Everything I'm not
by Merciless Justice
Summary: Just the busy city of Tokyo, bustling with people. She seemed too oblivious of the cruel world around her. He seemed to have lost all faith in humanity. Everybody has rough patches once in awhile... "So you're telling me that you sing about being a "lovesick crackhead," but you've never even had a sip of alcohol in your life?"
1. Miss Nova

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of the songs used

**For the second time, I redid the story. I deleted it and now, I'm editing and reposting them. I actually kind of forgot about this story for a while and totally forgot where I was going with this plot. :/ I know what you're thinking. **_**Ugh. How many times are you going to keep forgetting this story and rewriting the plot?**_ **Well, I'm happy to mention that over the course of last months or so, I've managed to write 6 long chapters already. Meaning, I can guarantee you that I will not start this story over again and that I will finish this. :) I apologize for not updating for the longest time :(. But I shall make my promise now, that I will update more often now because I have so many of my chapters already written :).**

* * *

At this point in time, thousands of people had been sitting in a dark stadium, the only source of light being the glowsticks that more than half of the people had been holding and the bright light emitted from the word "EXIT" on top of the emergency exit doors. They were murmuring about how this event was going to turn out as well as staring intently at the stage, waiting. These people had been looking forward to this moment for months. They had all paid a decent amount of money and were sure that they would not be disappointed.

The girl they had been waiting for was sitting on chair in her dressing room which had been personalized to her liking. It was a cozy room with light pink, inviting walls. There was a little LCD tv hanging on the wall that allowed her to get a nice view of the people in the stadium.

Her heart was beating fast. The butterflies in her stomach was fluttering around even more and more by the moment. The adrenaline rush made her hop off of the chair she was sitting in and pace around the room.

Ten thousand. This was the number that kept encircling her head. She had known from the very beginning that this going to be the number and it had never hit her like it did now. There was so much more to actually seeing the amount of people. The fact that they were all here for her meant a lot to her. She, at often times, began wondering if she did deserve so much attention.

She was shivering -not from the anxiety, but from the AC that had been blasted across the room. The thin layer of clothing was not sufficient enough to keep her warm. She was wearing a loose white shirt that stopped right above her belly button. Her flat stomach was uncovered for the whole world to see. Her black lacy bra was visible under the transparent shirt. She was also wearing black booty shorts, so her thighs and legs were covered with goosebumps. On the back of her booty shorts, "Miss Nova" was written in big, hot pink letters.

Her face that had nice summer tan was covered in layers of foundation and concealer. Her eyeliner had curved up to her temples. The shiny glitter that had started on her eyelids had extended around her eyes and traces of the glitter was left on her cheeks. The obnoxious amount of mascara that had been put on made it seem as if she was wearing fake lashes.

All in all, she looked gorgeous. Indeed, her makeup artist, Sumire Shouda, had done an amazing job. However, now, she looked nothing like she did without any makeup. The innocence of her face and her eyes were smothered by manufactured chemicals that managed to give her artificial beauty. The natural beauty of her face as well as her soul was covered deep, deep down.

"Miss Nova," she heard a voice behind her. She turned around to face a short guy with black hair, who was leaning against her wooden door. He was in his early thirties, but he was barely four feet, ten inches tall. She had no idea why he was so vertically challenged. Was it just genetics? Or maybe a disorder? But she thought it was a better idea to keep her thoughts to herself.

"Kuonji, please just call me Mikan," The girl replied with a smile. "Miss Nova is just my stage name."

"Alright, Mikan. You're on in five." As he took notice of her nervousness, he made his way towards her and put one of his hands on her shoulder as a way to comfort her.

"Calm down Mikan. You'll be fine. Take a deep breath." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Kuonji continued talking, "Mikan, there is no need for you to be nervous. You know that as long as I'm your producer, and you listen to me, everything is going to be fine. I'll make you more successful than you can ever dream of." Anyone else with more wit could sense the condescending tone in his voice; but anyone with an innocent soul, who trusted too easily could mistake it for a caring one.

Mikan give him a weak smile, "Thanks Kuonji. You're right. It's because of you that I am famous today." Kuonji nodded in approval of what she had just said.

"Now, get ready. You're on in two."

Mikan walked out of her room that was backstage, and stood behind curtain that separated her from the audience. _This is it._

This was the moment. The only thing separating her from the audience was a mere sheet of fabric. At this moment, she knew she was ready. The anxiety that was eating her just a while ago disappeared. Her confidence grew. She was ready to face what was coming to her.

In her head, she quickly went through the choreography. She had practiced well over a hundred times. There was no way she was going to mess up.

The background music of her first song started playing and the curtain opened. It an upbeat music that made the audience want to get up and start dancing. The stage was filled with the fake green smoke that her crew had set up, and as she walked through it, the audience became more and more visible.

She started singing her hit song and her backup dancers joined her in dancing.

**"Blow" **

(This song belongs to Ke$ha, not me)

_Dance._

_Back door cracked, we don't need a key_

_We get in for free, no V.I.P. sleaze,_

_Drink that Kool-Aid follow my lead,_

_Now you're one of us, you're coming with me_

_It's time to kill the lights and shut the DJ down_

_(This place's about to)_

_Tonight we're taking over, no one's getting out_

_[x4:]_

_This place's about to blow-oh-oh-oh!_

_Blow-oh-oh-oh_

_(This place about to)_

As she sang and danced, she took note of how the audience looked a lot bigger up front than on her little TV backstage. But that didn't get her nervous. She could hear them cheer for her and scream her name. That was all she cared about. The audience loving her. Her making the audience happy.

_Now what? What? We're taking control_

_We get what we want_

_We do what you don't_

_Dirt and glitter cover the floor_

_We're pretty and sick_

_We're young and we're bored_

_It's time to lose your mind and let the crazy out_

_(This place about to)_

_Tonight we're taking names 'cause we don't mess around_

She also noticed posters that her fans were holding. One of them read, "Miss Nova is the world's sexiest beast." There was another one that said "I love Miss Nova and her ass."  
Deep inside of her heart, she felt a hint of disgust, but she blew kisses at the audience, nonetheless.

_[x4:]_

_This place about to blow-oh-oh-oh!_

_Blow-oh-oh-oh_

_Go, go, go, go insane, go insane_

_Throw some glitter, make it rain on 'em_

_Let me see them Hanes, let me, let me see them Hanes_

_Go insane, go insane_

_Throw some glitter, make it rain on 'em_

_Let me see them Hanes, let me, let me see them Hanes_

_We are taking over..._

_Get used to it ok..._

_[x4:]_

_Oh, this place about to blow-oh-oh-oh!_

_Blow-oh-oh-oh_

_Kuonji knows what he is doing. He will make me successful._ These were the only thoughts that ran inside of her mind.

_This place about to blow... _

* * *

**About One year earlier**

Mikan was in a small room. With her were a short man with the name of Kuonji and another female next to him.

She was wearing a yellow sundress that drop down to her knee. Her huge smile reinforced her bubbly personality. Her face was barely touched with any makeup, but she looked beautiful nonetheless.

She started an introduction, "Hi! I'm Mikan Sakura, age 18, and I've been singing ever since I can remember. My mom tells me that it was since the age of three. I'm just so happy to have this opportunity to sing in front of you. I can barely believe that this is actually happening for real."

Kuonji was just nodding the whole time as he appeared to be jotting stuff down on his notebook paper. He finally said, "So what are you going to be singing for us today?"

Her sanguine attitude had not changed; in fact, her smile had widened when she said "It's an original called 'You belong with me'."

**"You Belong With Me"**

(This song belongs to Taylor Swift, not me)

_You're on the phone_

_with your girlfriend ‒ she's upset_

_She's going off_

_about something that you said_

_'cause she doesn't get your humor like I do._

_I'm in my room ‒ it's a typical Tuesday night._

_I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like._

_She'll never know your story like I do._

_But she wears short skirts_

_I wear t-shirts_

_She's cheer captain_

_And I'm on the bleachers_

_Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find_

_That what you're looking for has been here the whole time._

_If you could see_

_That I'm the one_

_Who understands you_

_Been here all along_

_So why can't you see_

_you belong with me,_

_You belong with me?_

_Walking the streets_

_With you and your worn out jeans_

_I can't help thinking_

_This is how it ought to be._

_Laughing on a park bench_

_Thinking to myself_

_"Hey, isn't this easy?"_

_And you've got a smile_

_That could light up this whole town._

_I haven't seen it in awhile_

_Since she brought you down._

_You say you're fine -_

_I know you better than that._

_Hey, what you doing_

_With a girl like that?_

_She wears high heels,_

_I wear sneakers._

_She's cheer captain,_

_And I'm on the bleachers._

_Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find_

_that what you're looking for has been here the whole time._

_If you could see_

_That I'm the one_

_Who understands you_

_Been here all along_

_So why can't you see_

_you belong with me?_

_Standing by you_

_Waiting at your backdoor._

_All this time_

_How could you not know, baby_

_You belong with me,_

_You belong with me?_

_Oh, I remember you were driving to my house_

_In the middle of the night._

_I'm the one who makes you laugh_

_When you know you're about to cry._

_I know your favorite songs,_

_And you tell me about your dreams._

_Think I know where you belong,_

_Think I know it's with me._

_Can't you see_

_That I'm the one_

_Who understands you?_

_Been here all along_

_So why can't you see_

_You belong with me?_

_Standing by you_

_Waiting at your backdoor._

_All this time_

_How could you not know, baby,_

_You belong with me,_

_You belong with me?_

_You belong with me._

_Have you ever thought just maybe_

_You belong with me?_

_You belong with me._

As she finished singing, she looked at both the female and Kuonji's face, searching for some kind of expression. Her heart was beating fast, scared and anxious. She could hear it pounding in her ear.

Kuonji finally spoke up, "Well, I guess... I could produce you. I'm not too happy with your singing. There are a lot of techniques that you haven't mastered yet. I can help you with that, but I can only help you if you listen to me, and do what I tell you to do."

He paused for a second to see if she was listening. When she nodded, he continued, "Only then can you be successful. It's all up to you now, are you willing to work with me and do what I tell you to? You're lucky to have this opportunity. You're probably never going to get an opportunity like this again."

Mikan had to refrain from squealing, "Thank you Thank you thank you! Of course, I'm willing to work! I knew that I would have to improve on some things. I'm only an amateur; I know I'm not perfect!"

Kuonji stood up from his chair and walked towards a cabinet. From there, he picked up a huge stack of paper. "Well, OK then, all you need to do is sign everywhere it says to sign. I'll need this contract within next week."

He handed Mikan the stack as she nearly fell under its weight. How many papers were in the stack? 400? 500? She managed to recover before she said goodbye and left.

The female next to kuonji gave him a weird look, "What did you mean she had to improve? She seemed as if she was singing as a professional on stage her whole life."

Kuonji look at her and said, "yes, I know. She's hot and talented. We've gotta use everything we can to make the most amount of money possible. We're lucky we got to her first; with her level of talent, she could've gotten well over a million opportunities like this."

The female just chuckled at him, "Then why did you tell her that she was lucky that we called her and she would probably never ever get an opportunity like this?"

"I can't tell her the truth if we want to make a lot of money. We have to make her think that she won't ever get an opportunity like this. Or else, she can just leave us and make some other producer rich and successful. If I want her to do exactly as I want, I have to manipulate her and her thoughts. Next time you see her, don't forget to tell her how lucky she is to have me actually pick her, and that if she doesn't make me happy, she can't ever be successful."

The female look at him again, "What's on that contract?"

"Oh, I'll be controlling her now. I decide what she sings. I decide what she will look like. I decide how she sings. I decide where she sings. I decide everything."

* * *

Again, I don't own any of the songs mentioned/ used. Review please :). I would really appreciate some feedback :D.


	2. Back from Aus

Disclaimer- Gakuen Alice is not mine.

* * *

It was almost the end of October, and it was chilly outside. The trees were starting to lose their leaves, leaving a crunchy pile of orange and red for people to step on as they strolled by. They knew that this was a sign that winter was approaching very very soon.

Tokyo city was bustling with horns of the cars and commotion of people. Some were busy going along their way to their work while others were walking to school. There were several who had just come outside to enjoy half a pack of cigarettes. Whatever the case, the city was filled with busy people all pushing and shoving their way in a hurry to get done whatever it was that needed to be done.

There were two lads who happened to be a part of the crowd. They were both very talented at attracting unwanted attention from females. The sky was grey and rain seemed likely but they were both wearing sunglasses and a hat as lame excuses for disguise.

One of the guys was visibly annoyed. He was talking through the phone with furrowed eyebrows and a vein that popped on his forehead. The other guy was listening intently to his friend who was on the phone and looking down at the floor in order to avoid any eye contact with girls on the street. Usually the girls would not hesitate to run up to the handsome fellows and enthuse over them. But today, they could sense the tension from the irritated guy on the phone and decided that it would be a better idea to stay away and admire them from a distance.

"I don't give a shit if you are expecting me tomorrow! I told you that I'm not coming, and that's final," He yelled through the phone.

"Well then, I don't give a damn," the man said for the last time before rudely hanging up, and stuffing the phone into his pocket.

The guy next to him looked at the irritated fellow, "Natsume, are you okay?"

"Yea Ruka," Natsume sighed, "That idiot Taiki can do whatever the hell it is he wants to do but he won't leave me alone."

They picked up their paces and walked faster in the crowd. As Natsume looked up from the ground, his eyes caught a sign that he hadn't seen in a while behind his busy schedule. It was a green sign, and there was a white lady there with white hair. He immediately recognized it to be the Starbucks logo.

As they got closer to it, Natsume nudged Ruka on the side and indicated and he wanted to go in.

Ruka just nodded and followed Natsume into Starbucks.

* * *

Mikan had been driving well over an hour in a light blue car. It was an old car. The design looked outdated and it had to be dropped off in the repair shop more often than what was considered normal. True, it made squeaky noises and the rust on the metal kept growing, but the family could never even think about getting rid of it. In fact, the car had been with the family for so long that it was considered a part of the family too. It even had a name: Betty.

Mikan was smoothly tracking her time and she was spot on. _10:32. If I continue at 40 miles per hour for the next 10 miles, I'll get there in more or less 15 minutes. _

As she enjoyed the cool wind (through the open window) caressing her face and causing her hair to fly, something she had not anticipated came to hit her in the face (figuratively, of course.) The car in front of her came to a sudden halt causing her to quickly hit the brake pedal to avoid rear ending the car in front of her. Traffic.

_Shoot._

She was currently on her way to pick up her best friend, Hotaru Imai, from the airport. The last time they had seen each other was over one year ago, when they both graduated from high school. They did communicate using the latest technology - skype, email, phone, but not as often as they had hoped they could. Even when they did communicate, it was only for a few minutes at a time due both of their busy schedules.

Hotaru was an inventor, and had been in Australia. Her dream was to someday open a successful business. For that reason, she was hardworking and willing to travel to different countries to meet other inventors and gain more knowledge in the field.

A week ago, while Mikan was busy practicing songs for her next album, she received a phone call. Kuonji wasn't too happy about the disturbance, but when Mikan saw that the phone call from Hotaru, she just had to pick it up. But she was sure to keep the conversation short. Hotaru had basically called her to tell her that she would be taking a short break and coming home for about two weeks. She hadn't forgotten to add, "You need to come pick me up. I don't want to call a taxi because it costs too much."

Mikan had to practically beg Kuonji for two weeks off to spend with Hotaru. She had followed him around with her puppy dog eyes and finally convinced him that she would stay extra hours to make up for the time she would miss. No matter how stubborn he was, even Kuonji couldn't resist her puppy dog eyes. He had regrettably agreed to letting her have the next two weeks off.

* * *

In Starbucks, Ruka and Natsume took a seat across each other next to a wall. Even though they were the ones who were supposed to go the employees to order their drinks, the employees insisted that they were more than happy to act as waitresses and take Natsume and Ruka's orders in their seats. The woman who had taken their orders came back two minutes later to serve them their peppermint mochas.

After setting down their drinks in front of them, the waitress took out a piece of paper and pen from the pocket of her apron and set it in front of Natsume,"Could I have your autograph please? I'm a huge fan!" Natsume grumbled under his breath before scribbling incoherent nonsense on her paper. The waitress blushed before neatly folding up the piece of paper and tucking it away in her pocket. "Thank you. Enjoy your drink fellas," She added with a smile and a wink before returning to her station.

After several sips of his coffee, Ruka sighed before saying, "Wow. It's been long since we last came here, hasn't it?"

Natsume nodded, "Yea. We used to come here all the time. All four of us. It used to be our little hang out place."

Ruka smiled at the memories, "Yea. And we always sat here in these exact seats. Things were so much easier in high school, wasn't it? I mean we wanted to desperately get out while we were there. But now that everyone is off doing their own things, I miss the old days, ya know?"

Natsume took a sip out of his peppermint mocha before looking around the shop, letting the wave of nostalgia hit him, "This place hasn't changed a bit. Even the stain on the walls are the same."

Ruka chuckled, "Yea. I remember Koko making predictions as to how the stains got there in the first place." Ruka took a deep sigh, "I wonder how Koko and Kitsu and doing. It's been months since I last heard from Koko."

"Koko's stressed," Natsume replied. "His family is putting him under a lot of pressure to learn how to properly take over the Yome business. He doesn't want to mess up either. He's eager to take over the business, but he's gonna be busy for a while. As for Kitsu, he's having a lot of fun traveling Europe. He says he's learning a lot."

Ruka gaped at him, "I've been getting postcards from Kitsu too, but you've talked to Koko recently?"

Natsume nodded, "He called me a few days ago to know how things have been going back here. He was in a hurry so we didn't get to talk for that long."

"All four of us have been best friends since elementary school. We've been through so much together. I still can't believe how different we all grew up to become. Natsume, you're a singer. I'm in college on my way to becoming a vet. Koko, a businessman. And Kitsu, a magician and comedian."

"Things have gotten different," replied Natsume, who seemed to be in deep thought about his high school years.

* * *

_10:55. Oh no. Kill me now. I'm sooo late. _

Mikan was still sitting in traffic. Mikan knew that Hotaru's plane was scheduled to land five minutes ago and yet there she was, still sitting in traffic, not able to drive any faster than five miles per hour. Even if the traffic cleared up now, Mikan still had about nine more miles to go. If she were to obey the speed limit, it would still take her about thirteen or fourteen minutes to get to the airport.

She could almost imagine what Hotaru would look like when Mikan eventually shows. Mikan shuddered at the image in her head. Hotaru almost looked like the devil, with horns and an evil smirk.

_Sigh. I am so dead._

* * *

Natsume and Ruka had just entered Natsume's house when a man in his mid-forties ran up to Natsume and hugged him tightly. It was an awkward hug for Natsume. While the man held him tightly enough to almost suffocate Natsume, Natsume was just standing there in disbelief.

"Let go of me," Natsume muttered. Even after the man let go of Natsume, Natsume was still glaring at him.

"Natsu! You showed up!" The man smiled widely and his eyes sparkled. He ignored Natsume's glare and proceeded to pinch one of Natsume's cheeks. At this point, Natsume looked as if he wanted to murder someone. He swatted off the man hand not too nicely, causing the man to flinch and gape at the red mark on his hand.

"Natsu. That's so mean" the man pouted.

The man had black hair with streaks of white running through the sides. He was indeed aging. His wrinkles were starting to form. However, His sparkling grey eyes showed the childishness and playfulness that he still possessed.

"Shut up Taiki. I'm not here for you. This is my house. I live here. You're the idiot who's not welcome."

Natsume and Ruka proceeded to take off their shoes and walk in through the hallway into the kitchen and the living room were right next to one another, only separated by half of a low wall, so they could easily tell who was in both of the rooms and well as watch the sixty inch TV in the living room from the kitchen.

It was a nice house. It wasn't enormous, but it was a lot bigger than the average house in Tokyo. The Hyuuga family had enough room for themselves as well as the several guests that decided to reside there at times.

As Natsume and Ruka walked into the kitchen (with Taiki following them), they saw Natsume's mother who was leaning against the counter while she read a magazine and drink her coffee. When she saw the two guys walk in together, she set her magazine down and welcomed Ruka with a smile and frowned at Natsume.

"Natsume. You walked out of the house so suddenly this morning. You didn't even eat the breakfast that I cooked for you."

Natsume just shrugged and mumbled a sorry under his breath. He took a seat at the dining table and touched the food that was still sitting there from the morning. It was cold so he popped it into the microwave before bringing it back to the table again to eat.

His mother focused her eyes on Ruka as she admired his soft features and asked with a kind smile, "Ruka, dear, would you like something to eat too?"

Ruka smiled back, "No thank you. I already ate."

"Kaoru! Your son was mean to be again. He called me an idiot." Natsume groaned at Taiki's voice behind him. He set his fork down for a moment to turn around to look at the pouting Taiki.

Kaoru just shook her head. "Not again. Why can't you two just get along? Natsume! Show him some respect. He's your uncle."

Taiki stuck out his tongue at Natsume when he heard Kaoru defending him. Natsume responded with his typical glare.

When Kaoru saw the faces that Taiki and Natsume were throwing at one another, she sighed, closed her eyes, and put her hands on her temple. "Both of you are so childish." With the statement, she put her empty coffee mug in the sink and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Taiki and Natsume to continue making faces and Ruka to stand there awkwardly as he tried to figure out what to do. He finally decided to go into the living room where he was greeted by Natsume's sister who was watching TV.

"Hey Aoi," He took a seat next to her and watched the TV with her. It was an episode of Friends, one of Aoi's favorite shows, the one where Rachel finds out that she is pregnant.

They were both trying to enjoy the show when they heard the loud noise of the dishes banging. At the sound, Aoi and Ruka both jumped up and ran into the kitchen at the sight of Taiki doing the dishes and Natsume looking over him as if he was a slave master. Taiki was sweating as he scrubbed the dishes and Natsume was looking over him to see if he was doing the job properly.

Aoi ran to Taiki and tugged his sleeve. "Uncle Taiki! You don't have to do the dishes. The housekeeper will take care of that!"

"Let him do his job Aoi," she heard Natsume's voice behind her.

"Nii-san! That's not his job!" She retorted as she took the sponge out of Taiki's hand, turned off the water and gave him a towel to dry his hands with.

Taiki gratefully looked at Aoi. "Oh Aoi! My dear Aoi!" He dramatically said and hugged Aoi as she hugged him back with the same enthusiasm.

"Nii-san. You shouldn't be so mean to Uncle Taiki." Taiki nodded in agreement with Aoi.

Natsume just rolled his eyes and walked into the living room, tugging Ruka along with him, leaving Aoi to comfort Taiki.

* * *

"You're late. Thirty-two minutes late," Hotaru stood next to Mikan tapping her watch with her finger as she waited for an explanation.

"I'm so sorry Hotaru. There was an accident up ahead so I was caught in traffic," Mikan responded hoping that her best friend would believe her. "I swear Hotaru," She added.

Hotaru eyed Mikan suspiciously. When she saw in Mikan's eyes that Mikan was infact not lying, she responded, "Fine. But you've got to treat me to a lunch in a few days. Preferably crab."

Mikan slightly smiled rolled her eyes at Hotaru and took time to observe how much she had changed over the last two years. Her black hair was longer now; it was wavy and it fell about an inch below her shoulders. Her facial bone structure had changed to give her a more mature and sophisticated look. Her violet eyes had not changed. They still had the calm yet serious appearance.

"Stop staring at me you idiot. Let's go." Mikan snapped back from her train of thoughts and nodded.

"What did you bring for me from Australia?" Mikan asked playfully as they walked towards the light blue car.

"I brought me. I should be present enough for you, you greedy imbecile."

Mikan gasped at her best friend's insult, but smiled when she realized that her best friend had not changed at all. Nope. Not even one bit.

* * *

Aoi, Natsume, and Ruka were all seated on the comfy couches in the living room. Although the TV was on, they weren't too focused on it. They were busy with their own conversation. Taiki had already left to his own house, much to Natsume's delight.

"And then I told her to back off. The only thing the poor puppy could do was walk behind the girl and follow her," Aoi ended her story.

Ruka sympathized with her, "That poor puppy." He took in a sigh of sadness. "He didn't deserve that."

Aoi was in tears, "I know." She sniffed. "It's so sad."

Aoi turned to look at Natsume, "Nii-san. Don't you think that's sad?"

Natsume shrugged and turned towards the TV. Aoi and Ruka also focused on the TV to calm down from the sad story Aoi had just told. They were watching Mtv: the top 40 music video countdown. Number six, the song "Born this way" was ending.

"Up next," They heard the host say, "This music video has gone viral. This song has reached top three on itunes. Miss Nova, a sexy nineteen year old girl just having fun and enjoying life to the fullest. Number Five is her hit new song 'I Wanna Go'." (This song is owned by Britney Spears.)

As the music video started, Natsume furrowed his eyebrows and said, "What the hell is this?"

"What do you mean Nii-san? I love this song!"

"It's a disgrace," He said looking at the half-naked girl on the tv dancing with a bunch of guys. "There should not be some slut wearing too little clothes and too much makeup representing the music industry. If this is what it has come to, the industry to going to down down the dumps soon enough."

Aoi shook her head, "She's not a slut. She's an amazing singer. Everyone loves her." She started singing along, "I-I-I wanna go-o-o all the way-y-y."

Natsume continued watching the TV in disgust. He cringed more and more as he saw the young girl shaking her butt and the guys around her who looked like they wanted to do her.

_Just another attention-whore slut._

* * *

Mikan and Hotaru had arrived at Mikan's condo that she shared with her sister, Misaki. As they walked in, they saw a crying Misaki and a disinterested Tsubasa sitting together, hand in hand, watching The Notebook. Misaki was using her free hand to wipe away her tears with a tissue. Next to her was a pile of already used tissues.

When she saw Mikan and Hotaru walk in, she briefly looked over to them with her tear-stained face and managed to say through her sobbing, "Hey Hotaru. Welcome back. You guys wanna join us? It's such a good movie."

Tsubasa mumbled something about it being horrible before Misaki smacked him in the head and insisted that it was amazing.

"No thank you." Mikan responded as she and Hotaru walked towards her room.

Once they walked into Mikan's room, Hotaru settled herself on one of the chairs and asked, "So are they finally dating?"

"Who?" Mikan asked in confusion.

Hotaru sighed as she put her legs up on the nearest table and rested her arms on the armrests, "The idiots outside. Misaki and Tsubasa."

Mikan shook her head. "Nope. They're just best friends. they've known each other since toddler years."

Mikan sat down on her bed with her legs folded and her arms draped on them before she continued, "Plus Misaki has a boyfriend in France who she's been dating for about a year now. I think she said his name was Peter."

Hotaru nodded, indicating that she was listening to what Mikan was saying.

"I took off two weeks so that we could spend time together." Mikan said turning to look at Hotaru. "It's been fun, really. I feel like I'm learning a lot about the music industry. You listen to my songs don't you?"

Hotaru pursed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. "I heard a few of your songs back in Australia. I've been meaning to talk to you about them."

Mikan raised her eyebrow and shifted her position to turn her body towards Hotaru so that she would no longer have to turn her neck, "What is it?"

Hotaru took a few second to think of the right words, "You don't seem to... be yourself. Your songs seem to be all about sex, drinking, partying hard... As far as I'm concerned, you don't do any of those things in real life, do you?" She narrowed her eyes until Mikan answered.

Mikan shook her head, "No! Of course not."

Hotaru continued, "Your music videos are unbelievable. You're dancing half naked with strange men. Your face is covered in so much makeup that you don't look anything like you normally do."

She paused and eyed Mikan, searching for an answer.

Mikan responded, "They're not my ideas. I was surprised too at first when Kuonji introduced all of his ideas to me. But there's nothing to worry about Hotaru."

"Who's this Kuonji?" Hotaru lightly bit the insides of her cheeks.

"He's my producer and manager. He really cares about me Hotaru. He's more experienced than me. He knows more about the music industry. I've learned so much from him. He told me himself that he would make me successful. "

"And you believe him?"

Mikan nodded, "Of course! What is there to not believe? My songs are going platinum. They're always in the top tens in itunes and my music videos get millions of views on youtube."

Hotaru wanted to say more, but she decided that it was no use without investigating more about his Kuonji guy. She sensed that there was something fishy about him.

Mikan wanted to change the subject. She knew that her best friend was overprotective of her and didn't trust any of the guys who approached her. _She's just paranoid_.

Mikan leaned back and laid down on her bed, spreading her arms out. "So Hotaru, what are planning to do for your birthday? It's only a week away."

"My family wants a huge party for me. They're letting me do all of the planning so that it is exactly the way I want. Honestly, I'd rather just hang out with a few of my friends."

Mikan laughed. It was so typical of Hotaru to hate big parties. She was an introvert and barely talked to anyone she wasn't close to. She wasn't known for making small talks, but rather for her terse, yet meaningful statements.

The clock in Mikan's room chimed as it hit noon.

Hotaru took it as a cue. "I have to go," She said, standing back up to her feet. "My parents want to have a family lunch and dinner with me."

Mikan walked Hotaru to the door and waved goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow then." Hotaru nodded.

She closed the door behind Hotaru and turned around to see her pink-haired sister who was crying even more now over the movie and Tsubasa who just looked bored out of his mind. She saw Misaki toss her used tissue to add to her pile and wipe her tears on Tsubasa's black shirt. Tsubasa didn't seem mind even a little bit. He just sat there with his arms around Misaki's shoulders, playing with her hair, and yawning.

* * *

See you soon 3... Review please?


	3. A Thin Black Wallet

Disclaimer. I don't own Gakuen Alice!

Thank you to those who reviewed! :) **Sorry :) I just edited this when I realized that the fanfiction somehow removed some of the formatting (with italics and all). I changed it so that it's how it's supposed to be now.**

* * *

It was a pleasure for Mikan to walk around without makeup and not have anybody recognize her. At times, she'd had people come up to her and tell her that she kind of looked like Miss Nova, but no one really figured out that it was her. There were only several people who were aware: her family, Hotaru, Tsubasa, Kuonji, Sumire.

It wasn't like Mikan intentionally tried to create two different people. It just kind of turned out that way. She never expected herself to look so different with so much makeup. When the two pounds of makeup came off, no one recognized her as the superstar. When that happened, she preferred to keep quiet about who she really was (she figured that it was an advantage when she realized how other celebrities had to deal with paparazzi and aggressive fans on a daily basis). The stage name wasn't meant to be a disguise. Kuonji had already picked it out saying that she would need a name that would fit her image on stage... and Mikan Sakura wasn't going to cut it.

Mikan's parents didn't live in Japan. They had a business in China and only came home once in awhile to visit their daughters. They did have a house in Tokyo, but it was all locked up and secured while they were gone. The only people who had the keys to get into the house were Mikan and Misaki. Misaki and Mikan could've chosen to live at their parents house, but Misaki decided that she was old enough to move out and buy her own condo, especially since she was now loads closer to her work as well.

Mikan didn't want to live alone in her house. It was a big house and the noises it made scared her to death when she was alone.

She was aware that the noises were only the wind or the heating system going off, but she still preferred to live with her sister. There were often times when she was left alone in the condo too, but she found the condo way less creepy. To begin with, it was much smaller than her house. The noises of the wind and the heating system were still there (as they are in every house), but her neighbors were closer so that they could actually hear her if she were to ever scream for help.

Their parents knew that Mikan was a famous singer, but since they weren't home really all that often, they weren't fully aware of the types of song Mikan sang and danced to. They hadn't seen any of Mikan's music videos. They were the type of people who were interested in traditional music, not pop. They were proud of the fact that their daughter was famous and successful, but they didn't know what she was famous for.

"Do you remember Ruka?" Hotaru took the last bite out of her pancake as she placed the clean dish on the side of her table for a waitress to pick up.

Mikan looked up from her food and snapped out of the trance she was in, "Oh yeah. He's that blonde friend of yours, right? I've only seen him a few times but I remember you talking about him. I think he went to your high school, right?"

Hotaru nodded before neatly gathering her personal belongings that she had placed on the table of the cafe. "I told him yesterday that I'm back and he asked me to meet him for dinner."

"Like for a date? You guys are dating? That's awesome," Mikan exclaimed, sighing and looking up to the imaginary thought bubble in front of her as she imagined Hotaru wearing a white bridal dress.

"No. Of course not. Stop imagining weird things." She glared at Mikan, knowing from Mikan's dreamy facial expression exactly what she was thinking.

Mikan flashed a cheeky grin at her. "Alright. In the meanwhile, we should go shopping for you. You'll need something really cute to impress him."

"Impress him?" Hotaru spoke as if what Mikan had said was the most ridiculous thing in the world after that guy on the news who claimed to be from the future. "Why the hell would I want to impress him?"

Mikan looked at Hotaru's annoyed expression and blinked innocently, "Hmm. I thought you liked him. Was I wrong?"

Hotaru glared at her, "Don't you dare say something so idiotic again. Ruka and I are just friends."

* * *

Natsume hadn't realized how hungry he was until he heard his stomach growl. He checked his clock on his wall which read 5:47.

_Ruka must be having the time of his life with his girlfriend._

He silently chuckled as he recalled his conversation with his best friend earlier that day.

_"You're going to go meet your girlfriend looking like that?" Natsume teased with a faint smirk. He was looking at Ruka's green scrubs that he had to wear for vet school. Ruka was obviously wearing it at the moment because he had just gotten back from his classes and hadn't found the time to change._

_Ruka blushed a thousand different shades of red. He took a seat in a sofa that was perpendicular to the one Natsume was sitting in, "Hotaru's not my girlfriend. We're just really good friends."_

_"Oh yea. I remember you used to talk about her all the time when we were back in high school. Wasn't she in your science class or something like that?"_

_"I-I didn't talk about her all the time," Ruka retorted. "And yes. We were in the same science class three years in a row. And since we were the only ones who tolerated science despite how obnoxious Narumi was, we were his favorite students. He always assigned Hotaru and me as lab partners."_

_"Wasn't she that odd, eccentric girl? I saw her in the hallways a few times."_

_Ruka frowned, "She wasn't that odd. She was actually lovely, really. We became close friends because no one else in our class was interested in science. Even if they were, Narumi turned them off immediately."_

_Natsume observed how the look in Ruka's eyes became soft and how his cheeks became slightly red when he talked about Hotaru._

_Just really good friends, huh?_

Natsume was pretty disappointed by the lack of good food in the kitchen fridge. It wasn't long before he returned to his room with solely a small bag of Doritos that he found in his pantry.

He returned to his desk where he had been working before his stomach called out for him. His guitar was currently leaning against his chair untouched. The sheet music that Natsume was working on was getting most of his attention.

While occasionally popping Doritos in his mouth, Natsume analyzed the sheet with narrowed eyes. It was a piece that he had six years ago at the young age of fourteen. Overall, Natsume was happy with the piece. It was a personal one and although he considered some of the things he had written to be a bit silly, he didn't want to change it. He knew exactly what he had been thinking when he wrote the song that day. Changing the words would change the genuinity of the song and the emotions enveloped by it.

He picked up his guitar and slid his fingers down the strings as he started to strum it. He tapped his foot to keep the beat and kept his eyes on the sheet music. After he struck the notes enough times, he sang the first few stanzas.

(Disclaimer: This song belongs to The Last Goodnight)

_This is the clock upon the wall_

_This is the story of us all_

_This is the first sound of a newborn child,_

_Before he starts to crawl_

_This is the war that's never won_

_This is a soldier and his gun_

_This is the mother waiting by the phone,_

_Praying for her son_

_Pictures of you, pictures of me_

_Hung upon your wall for the world to see_

_Pictures of you, pictures of me_

_Remind us all of what we used to be_

His voice faded out when he stopped singing. This song made him remember his best friends. Koko. Kitsu. Ruka. The only people who knew what this song was about. Their faces flashed in Natsume's mind as nostalgia hit him. It was times like these when he was alone that he missed them the most.

As soon as Natsume stopped strumming his guitar, he heard clapping behind him. He quickly turned his head in surprise towards his unexpected audience to find that it was no other than his sister, Aoi.

Aoi was innocently leaning against his bedroom door with her arms folded, smiling at her brother, "Nii-san. That was really good. But I've got to say, I have no clue what pictures you are talking about!"

She laughed before slightly turning her head a little towards her right shoulder to examine her grim brother. She saw him roll his crimson eyes and turn back to his music sheet.

"Shut it," Natsume growled. He set his guitar down in its case and stood up from his chair. "If you've come here to comment on my songs, then you can just leave."

Aoi smiled an apologetic smile before shyly looking down at her feet, "Actually, I came to ask if you were busy."

"What do you want?" Natsume asked knowing that his sister needed some kind of favor from him when her voice became a bit timid.

"Could you drop me off at the mall? I promised my friend that I would meet her there. Mom's too busy to drop me off and I can't drive myself because I obviously am too young to get a license-"

"Fine," Natsume answered, interrupting the little rant that his fourteen year old sister was going on.

* * *

"That's great Misaki!" Mikan exclaimed at her twenty-four year old sister. "But I'm going to miss you so much!"

"It's only for two weeks Mikan. Plus I'm not leaving for another few days or so." Misaki answered before leaning her back against the kitchen counter and popping another donut hole into her mouth.

Tsubasa, who was standing next to her looked as if he was trying really hard to hide the fact that he was upset. His dark blue eyes looked darker than usual in sadness and he kept running his hand through his hair. His smile was obviously a forced one. Misaki, who was excited by her own news had missed this look on Tsubasa's face.

He put a donut hole in his mouth as well. He lightly pulled Misaki towards him wrapped his arms around her waist. He hugged her tightly from behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder. Misaki tried to push him away, wrinkling her nose, "Stop chewing next to my ear tsubasa. And chew with your mouth closed."

Mikan just watched in amusement from her own seat.

Tsubasa didn't budge. Instead, he swallowed the donut hole and said, "I'm gonna miss you Misaki." He giggled a little before continuing, "Now there won't be anyone for me to annoy and make fun of for two entire weeks."

He earned himself a good hit on the head. Let let go of Misaki to rub the part of his head that had been smacked.

"So when is your flight?" Mikan asked, taking the last donut hole in the box.

"In exactly four days. I can't wait to meet Peter. I haven't seen him for nearly six months," Misaki replied.

Misaki had just informed Mikan and Tsubasa that she would be going to France for two weeks. Her boyfriend, Peter, had invited her and even bought her a ticket. She had said this all while waving the plane ticket in their faces. Misaki was indeed very excited to visit France as well as her boyfriend.

It was something about Peter's mention that made Tsubasa sigh loud enough for only himself to hear. "I'm gonna go now." He no longer had on the fake smile. He stopped trying to force himself to do so because it was hurting his cheeks. He simply had a dark look on his face.

He quickly shuffled towards the door to Misaki's surprise. "Wait! Tsubasa. Where are you going?"

"Home," he replied with his back turned towards her as he put his shoes on.

Misaki quickly jogged towards him and lightly touched his arm. "Tsubasa! You live five minutes away. Just stay for a bit more please."

He didn't look at Misaki. He just looked down at his shoes. "I have things to do," he quickly said before opening the door and leaving. His tone was one that Mikan had never heard before. Tsubasa was always so friendly and nice. She had never expected Tsubasa's tone to get to cold and icy.

She looked at Misaki, who had tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly blinked the tears away and anger rose in her. She slammed the door shut hard before sitting on the couch. "That PMSing asshole!" She exclaimed to herself. "What the hell is wrong with him?" She glanced over to Mikan who just shrugged.

"_I have things to do_," she mocked his voice before continuing to ramble on. "Who the hell does he think he is? He never has things to do! That stupid old ugly ass mood-swinging lame-o."

* * *

Mikan was baffled at the guy in front of her.

_I do a good deed and what do I get in return? A "get lost." What has the world come to these days?_

Mikan closed her eyes, held her breath and counted to ten to prevent herself from exploding and attracting attention from the bystanders in the mall. It was a technique that Kuonji had taught her. Before performing, Mikan always tended to get afraid and nervous, but taking Kuonji's advice always helped her calm down.

She heard his voice again, "I told you to get lost. Get outta my way."

She put her index and middle fingers up to her temples and took another deep breath. She opened her eyes. When she did, insults that were about to fly out of her mouth got stuck in her throat. She couldn't manage to say a word. He was stoically staring right at her.

His eyes.

The crimson color was one that she had never seen before. Were they contacts? She let out a dry cough and looked away after realizing that she was staring. No, she wasn't lost in his eyes. She was just startled by the color of them. It was a strange color, one that didn't seem to exist naturally, yet looked so natural on him.

She folded her arms across her chest and furrowed her eyebrows in anger, still refusing to look him in the eyes again. "A thank you would be more acceptable."

"Nii-san. Just thank her. She didn't do anything wrong at all. She actually did you a favor."

Being too preoccupied by the rude young man, Mikan had failed to notice that there was a girl standing next to him who kind of looked like him but was a lot younger. She also seemed a lot sweeter with her smile and cheerful voice.

Same eyes.

"Whatever," He responded before mumbling something incoherent under his breath. "Let's go Aoi," He said for the last time before dragging his sister away with him. Aoi, as she was being pulled away, managed to glance back at Mikan, mouth "thank you," and smile.

Mikan was dumbfounded by what had just occurred. Had she done something wrong? She didn't think so. In fact, she thought that she had done the right thing. She thought that she did what any person should have done in the same situation. But why did she get such a harsh treatment?

While Hotaru was having dinner with Ruka, Mikan was in the mall. She had decided that this time away from Hotaru was perfect for her to buy a present for Hotaru's birthday which was less than a week away.

She had been quietly strolling through different stores, trying to decide whether Hotaru would like clothes, electronics, or just a fat gift card. She hadn't found anything that she had seen so far to her liking. It was a good thing that she was comfortable in her sweatpants and Uggs boots and her brown hair tied messily in a bun because she could tell that she would walking around in the mall for a very long time.

Just as she had been about to enter another store, she had witnessed a young man a few yards away, a few feet away from the bathroom. She had only been able to see his back and his messy raven hair. She had seen him taking his cell phone out of his back pant pocket and without him noticing, a thin black wallet had fallen out of the pocket as well. Being Mikan, she had decided to run over to his way and pick up the wallet for him.

She had smiled brightly at him and handed it over saying, "Excuse me, I think you dropped this."

She had expected no more than a simple 'thank you' or any other signs of gratitude, but unfortunately for her, she had encountered a grouch. He had been neither grateful nor happy to have gotten his wallet back. He had simply snached the wallet from her, glared at her, and told her to get lost.

Mikan shook her head to clear out what had just happened and proceeded to enter the store that she was about to enter before she met him.

On the other hand, the crimson-eyed young man had been in the mall for a completely different reason. He had been walking around with his sister, trying to find her friend that she was supposed to meet... until she needed to use the bathroom.

"Wait right here, Nii-san" She had said, leaving him in front of the bathroom as she left to enter it. As he was waiting, he had been looking down, trying to block his face from being seen by others in the mall. He had felt a sudden jolt of vibration. He had recognized the vibration to have come phone which was sitting safely in his back pant pocket.

Sender: Ruka Nogi. "Hotaru's in the bathroom right now. I'm having a great time. It's going better than I planned." _Lucky Bastard. He really is having the time of his life._

He had looked up when he had heard the lock click from the bathroom door. Aoi had walked out and was signalling that she was ready to go. Just as he had been about to put his phone away, he had heard a female voice behind him.

"Excuse me, I think you dropped this," He had heard the voice say. _Ugh fangirl._

He had seen the way she smiled brightly at him, holding his wallet out to him._ How the hell did she get my wallet? She probably picked my pocket and is just handing it back to me now to get my attention. How annoying._

He had snatched the wallet away from her and held it in his hand protectively. He had glared at her like there was no tomorrow. He had been annoyed at the time she had wasted. He had simply wanted to help Aoi find her friend and get out of the mall (filled with fangirls) as soon as possible and the young brunette was keeping him there longer than he needed to be kept. He had been annoyed by the way she looked at him: irritation followed by aghast. He had just wanted to get out of there so he had finally ended their encounter by pulling Aoi along with him away from the girl.

* * *

Hey you just read this,  
and this is crazy.  
But here's my chapter...  
So review maybe?

:) :) :)


	4. Tickets

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice

Thank you to those who reviewed! I really appreciate them! Even if they are harsh criticisms, I like to know if you guys have any suggestions or anything you feel that I need to fix. :)

* * *

Mikan finally found the perfect gift for Hotaru. Two hours of searching had really done the trick. She was tired. Her feet were starting to hurt. After realizing how hungry she had become over the course of two hours, she managed to walk over to the food court and buy a burger, medium fries, and sprite. She collapsed on the dining chair and immediately began eating.

Although she was extremely fatigued, Mikan didn't regret all of that walking. When she glanced at the shopping bag, she smiled in satisfaction at what she had found. She knew that her best friend would love it. She knew her too well. She could just imagine Hotaru's face now. She couldn't wait to see in person what the stoic face would turn into.

Inside of the bag was a touch screen camera that Mikan knew that Hotaru had been wanting ever since it came out. Hotaru was a big fan of sneaking around, taking pictures, and blackmailing people. Not only was the camera touchscreen, but it had 20 megapixels. It was an expensive gift, but it was totally worth it. Perfect HD pictures for blackmailing. She clutched the bag closely to her as she bit of out of her burger and fries with the occasional sips of sprite.

As she was quietly enjoying her food and satisfying her hunger, she saw a figure in front of her from her peripheral view. She set her burger down and flickered her eyes towards the figure. She saw them for the third time that day.

Crimson eyes.

"Hello," Mikan said with confusion in her eyes and an unsure tone.

Mikan recognized the person as the girl from earlier, and if she remembered correctly, the grouchy man had called her Aoi. She could tell that this girl was friendly. She had a certain thing about her that made her look so vulnerable. Thin pink lips. Dark lashes surrounding the eyes. Pale face surrounded by dark raven hair. A little bit of baby fat cushioning the cheeks. Pearly white teeth. Naive wasn't the correct word to describe it. Innocent wasn't either. Perhaps the perfect word was youthful. Yes, youthful. When she smiled at Mikan, Mikan couldn't help but smile back with her own bright smile. She could tell that this girl was young. _She probably isn't a day over fifteen._

"Do you mind if I sit here?" The girl asked pointing at the chair across from Mikan. Mikan nodded and gestured for her to sit down.

Once she settled down, she leaned towards Mikan, resting her elbows on the table, letting her shoulder-length raven hair bounce a little. "Listen. I'm really sorry about earlier. I really do appreciate what you did." Her voice was barely a whisper. It sounded apologetic, but was coated with cheerfulness nonetheless.

Mikan just smiled and shook her head, "Oh no, it was nothing. It's okay, really." She paused for a second before adding, "_You_were nice." She emphasized the "you." She offered some of her fries to the girl, who politely refused claiming that she had already eaten. Mikan just shrugged and continued eating.

This girl's smile was gone as she seemed to be in deep thought about what Mikan had said. _You _were nice. She stayed quiet for a few more seconds before speaking again, "You know, my brother really isn't that bad either."

Mikan snorted. "It's hard to believe."

The girl just shook her head telling herself it was no use trying to convince people that her brother was nice when he made it so hard for it to seem so. She wondered if Mikan actually knew who her brother was; that is, whether or not Mikan knew that he was a singer. So she asked, "Do you know my brother? I mean have you known him before today..."

Mikan shook her head and gave her a confused smile, "No. Why would I?"

"No reason. Just wondering." She smiled brightly again. "I'm Aoi Hyuuga, by the way."

Mikan wiped her hands on her napkin as she finished eating and turned the napkin into a ball before putting it on her empty plate. "I'm Mikan Sakura. It's nice to meet you."

She could see Aoi examining her face with narrowed eyes. Aoi spoke slowly, "I don't know if you've ever been told this before, but you kind of look like Miss Nova. Just a little. If I squint my eyes and turn my head a little, I see a little resemblance between the two of you." She quickly added, "It's a compliment of course. You're both very pretty."

Maybe it was Aoi's unsure voice... she wasn't exactly sure what, but something about what Aoi had just said and the way she said it made Mikan throw her head back in laughter as she clutched her stomach. She had tears in her eyes from her laughing. Aoi didn't know why Mikan was laughing, but the laugh was so contagious that she couldn't help but join Mikan. As the both of them finally managed to stop howling in laughter, Mikan finally spoke. She bit her lower lips and smiled a knowing smile. "Thanks. I do get told that once in awhile. Are you a fan of Miss Nova?"

Aoi quickly nodded, "Yes. I'm a huge fan. Her songs just make me want to get up and dance! They're really upbeat."

Mikan smiled, "That's great!"

They were both so into their delightful conversation that they hadn't realized how quickly time passed. When Aoi's phone buzzed, Mikan and Aoi were both surprised at the fact that it was already 8:30. Aoi read the text message that she had just received and shyly smiled at Mikan, "My brother's here to pick me up. I have to go Mikan-chan. It was nice meeting you."

Mikan smiled back, "It was great talking to you Aoi!"

Aoi gathered her things and quickly waved goodbye before fast walking away. Mikan watched the retreating figure of Aoi get smaller and smaller until she turned a corner and fully disappeared. It was then that a feeling panged inside of her. She suddenly remembered something. _Didn't Aoi say that she was a huge Miss Nova fan? _Mikan got her handbag and dug inside of it to find tickets to the next Miss Nova show. She held the tickets between her lips while her hands were busy throwing away her trash and gathering her things. She quickly gripped the tickets tightly in her hands before jogging towards the direction that Aoi headed in order to catch up with her.

Mikan turned the same corner that Aoi had turned but didn't see Aoi anywhere. She looked in front of her to see three different paths. Aoi could've gone in any one of the long paths and Mikan groaned at the thought of not being able to give Aoi the tickets. Mikan sighed sadly and turned around after determining that she had failed to find Aoi.

As Mikan walked back from where she had tried to find Aoi, she looked up to see a familiar face walk by her to the opposite direction. She instinctually turned around to see the distance increase between her and the guy with messy raven black hair. A light bulb (metaphorically) turn on inside of her head as she started running towards the guy.

She caught up to him and was right behind him when she happily said without thinking about the earlier encounter, "I'm so glad to see you!"

The guy turned around to see the same girl that he had seen earlier that day in the mall. He inwardly groaned when he saw a huge smile on her face. _Oh no. Not her again. Typical fangirl._

Natsume turned around as he decided to ignore her and walk away before Mikan yelled after him, "Wait! I want you to give something to Aoi for me!"

Mikan ran and increased her speed to once again catch up the the guy. She tried to heavily catch her breath, "Can you give these to Aoi for me?" She held out the tickets in front of him. "She told me that she was a huge Miss Nova fan and I really wanted to give these to her. By the way, Aoi told me that she was going home with you. What are you doing here?"

Natsume narrowed his eyes, "How do _you _know Aoi? And Where is she right now?" His tone was stern as well as one of concern for his sister.

Mikan smiled at the thoughts of her chat with Aoi, "She's such a sweet girl. She just left about five minutes ago when she got a text from you. Oh were you looking for her? She already left and is probably looking for you right now."

Natsume didn't thank the girl for the information that she provided for him. He put his hands on his head and mumbled to himself, "That girl. I told her to stay put and that I'd come in here for her."

Mikan once again asked him, "Could you give here these tickets for me?"

Natsume looked at the girl who he assumed was a fan girl and the tickets in disgust before walking away. Mikan should've expected a rude response from him, but her jaw still dropped at how ill-mannered the guy was. _How is it possible that Aoi is so nice and that he is just the opposite?! _

"Hey!" She yelled after him. She was attracting attention from the bystanders who just looked at her as if she was a crazy loud woman. "You know, you still owe me a favour from me picking up that wallet for you!"

He ignored the girl and picked up his pace so that he could increase the distance between the two of them. He still heard her yelling in the distance, "Hey!"

Something did seem a bit strange to him. It was the fact that the girl had stopped him for the reason of attempting to give him tickets to give to his sister. Usually fangirls stopped him to ask for an autograph or just to simple throw themselves at him. They never bothered to bring his sister in between. Even the shyest of his fans didn't have a difficult time fawning over him in the most obvious ways. And from the looks of it, this girl didn't seem like a shy type either. Exactly what category of fangirl did she fall under? This question encircled his head before he thought about the tickets. _Miss Nova tickets? I'm glad she wasn't able to give Aoi the tickets. I can't let Aoi get influenced by such a failure of a superstar._

* * *

It was exactly midnight on the dot when Mikan and Hotaru were in Mikan's room snacking on some popcorn. They were both in their pajamas, sitting on Mikan's bed. They had planned this sleepover only a few hours earlier when they both decided that they had things to tell each other.

Hotaru was talking about her dinner with Ruka. She described it as being fun. They apparently talked about the old days in high school and science class. She also told Mikan about several other conversations that they had. Some were completely random like which constellation was their favorite. Others were about their plans for the future and what they were both currently doing now. "It was just like the old days. He's exactly the same, personality wise," she said. She also added that they planned on having dinner again soon but with more friends next time, not just the two of them.

It was Mikan's turn to talk. She didn't want to tell Hotaru about her surprise gift so she started off with, "I was bored while you were having dinner with Ruka, so I decided to go to the mall." She told Hotaru about her encounter with the grouchy guy and his friendly sister. She described how angry she was and how much she wanted to punch him. She told her about the strange eyes. She also talked about how she met Aoi later. Mikan said while laughing, "She thought I looked like Miss Nova," and continued to explain the story about how she wanted to give Aoi the tickets and how she met Natsume again. And that he was so rude again.

By the time they were done with what they had to say, it was already two in the morning. Both of them were yawning and they decided that it would be a good idea to sleep.

* * *

At midnight, after he had finished talking to Ruka on the phone about his dinner with Hotaru, Natsume sat down on his chair and looked back at the lyrics he had started writing just a few days ago.

(Disclaimer: Coldplay owns this song, not me)

When she was just a girl,

She expected the world.

But it flew away from her reach

So she went away in her sleep.

That was all he had written so far. He had much more that he wanted to say but he had to decide what music would go with the song before he continued writing. He strummed his guitar softly to not wake up anyone in his house and tried several different series of notes to figure out what would fit best with the song. He wrote down the notes on his paper and softly hummed the song. It didn't seem right. Too melancholy. It didn't fit. He tried again. This time, it seemed too happy. It was just as bad as the first one. After trying and failing several times, he finally found what he thought was perfect. It was a bit slow, but it suited the lyrics and his emotions. He decided that he could continue with the lyrics.

She dreamed of para- para- paradise

Every time she closed her eyes.

When she was just a girl,

She expected the world,

But it flew away from her reach

And the bullets catch in her teeth.

He tried the music again and sang all of what he had written. He was satisfied. He sang the two stanzas over and over again, of course silent enough for only himself to hear. He was indeed happy with what he had. It was one of the best he had written, he decided.

It brought back many memories that couldn't be forgotten even if he tried. He got many images in his head once in awhile and he tended to capture those images, turn them into words, and get them down on paper.

Some people talked about things, others cried. Writing songs was his way of getting his emotions out. Some of his lyrics were too hard to analyze and decipher for some, but to him, they all made perfect sense.

Music kept him sane.

* * *

That night, two people couldn't sleep.

No matter how hard she tried to shut eyes eyes and forget it all, she couldn't. The words came back to hit her. The voice. The tone. She twisted and turned in her bed. She ended up throwing her blankets to the floor. Nothing worked.

She heard chatter and laughter from the other room, which she assumed was from her sister. She groaned and got up from her bed to the attached bathroom. She walked in, flicked the lights on and looked at herself in the mirror. Her normally rosy cheeks had lost their color. She examined the bags under her eyes. _I'm twenty-four. I should not be looking like this. I look like hell._

She took a deep breath and she put her pink hair up in a bun. She rinsed her face with cold water and patted it dry with a towel.

She walked back to her room again and sat up on her bed. It was already 1:30. She thought about what had happened in the evening. _I didn't do anything wrong did I?_

"What the hell is wrong with Tsubasa?" She asked to no one in particular. Why did he seem to cold? Why did he treat her like that? She had never seen him like that before. She had never heard him talk to her like that before. What was wrong? She lightly banged her head on her headboard and wondered what he was thinking about.

Tsubasa wasn't any better. He had already given up on trying to sleep. He was out on his balcony looking at the moon and stars staring back at him. _Why did I do that?_ As her best friend, shouldn't he have been supportive of her? Shouldn't he have been happy for her that she was going to France and seeing her boyfriend? _Boyfriend._

He shouldn't have been mad at her. But he was. _Why did I talk to her like that?_ It definitely wasn't like him. He didn't even know that he was capable of using such a harsh tone, especially towards Misaki. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

He knew that he would have to apologize. But what would he say to her? And would she accept his apology? It was a very frustrating situation. He and Misaki had been friends since toddler years and now, he was jeopardizing their friendship. That was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

* * *

I know that Mikan and Natsume aren't really bonding much or making a lot of conversation right now. That's because I like to take progress in relationships slowly. I've read fanfictions where Mikan and Natsume meet for the first time, get into a fight, and then immediately start liking each other. I personally find that very unrealistic. I believe that it takes time and more than one encounter to start liking and being comfortable around someone who you initially dislike. Maybe that's just me? BUT not to worry, just a few chapters more and Natsume and Mikan will really be bonding :)

Review please?


	5. Autographs

Disclaimer!  
I don't own Gakuen Alice. It's great... But it's not my work. :P

It's been so long since I last updated and I sincerely do apologize for that. I've been really busy with applying to colleges (writing numerous essays for my applications) and school work that I've had to completely neglect this story for so long. But I haven't forgotten about it. I'm back and posting the next chapter now. :) I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"You don't need to take this, Do you?" Mikan asked, pointing at a yellow tube top.

"Of course, I do!" Misaki claimed, taking the top from her sister's hand and folding it neatly before putting it in her suitcase.

Misaki was leaving for France the next day and being too preoccupied thinking about the situation with Tsubasa, she had almost forgotten how excited she was. She had almost forgotten to pack. So now, she had Mikan help her so that she would get it done on time.

"You're gonna need this," Mikan said as she shoved Misaki's green toothbrush into her bag. Misaki nodded and continued going through her clothes, trying to decide what to take with her. She was taking clothes out of her dresser and closet and throwing them on the floor to compare them to decide what she liked better. Her room was currently a huge mess with clothes all over the floor. There were only a few spots where the floor was visible and she used those spots to walk on to get across her room.

As they were packing, they heard a soft knock on the door at which Misaki decided to get up and examine. She hopped her way across her room and walked towards the front door. When she opened the door, her brown eyes met dark blue ones. Her feelings of hurt, confusion, and anger returned inside of her but she could only manage to softly say, "Tsubasa."

Ever since what had happened that day, they hadn't seen or spoken to one another for three days. She examined his face. He looked tired, much like she did. He had dark circles around his eyes and looked as pale as a ghost.

"Can I come in?" he said, biting his lower lip. He couldn't look into her eyes, so he just looked down at the floor as his hand fumbled with the zipper of his jacket.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked him, not answering his question. She could tell that he hadn't been getting enough sleep for the last few days. She examined his eyes, looking for an answer about what he was thinking.

He took a deep sigh and finally looked up. "Honestly, I don't know. I must be on my man period or something because I don't know what the hell is going on. I'm sorry."

She laughed. She was angry and confused just a minute ago, but something about Tsubasa's strange apology and explanation made her laugh. _His man period?_ Misaki stopped laughing and punched him on the head. "That's for being an asshole."

She punched him again, "That's for stressing me out."

And again. "That's for confusing me."

And again. "That's for making me waste my time thinking about what's going on with you."

And again. "That's for being an idiot."

Tsubasa just stood there laughing even though Misaki was abusing him. He tried dodging her smacks but she was too fast and unpredictable (about which hand she was going to use and exactly where she was going to hit him on the head.) He was used to this type of abuse. She never smacked him hard enough her him to get a concussion or pass out or anything, but it was enough for her to get her anger out. Using Tsubasa as a punching bag had been a habit ever since they were little. Tsubasa could handle it. He was a strong guy after all. If anything, Misaki's punches made him laugh.

As Misaki was about to land her final punch, Tsubasa caught her hand with his hand right before it got to his head. He took the hand and slowly brought it closer to his face. He pressed his lips against it. He winked at her before saying, "That's for being awesome."

Misaki snatched her hand away from his and glared at him in a joking-fake-angry sort of way. He laughed at her again and walked in through the door that she was holding open for him.

He followed her into her room and whistled when he saw how messy it was. He heard Mikan greet him and he greeted her back before pushing some of the clothes on the floor to the side to create a pathway for himself towards a chair.

"Do you need to take this?" Mikan asked as she held up a red silk dress.

"Yes! of course!" Misaki took the dress from Mikan and caressed the fabric in her hand.

Tsubasa looked at her suitcase which was filled with many articles of clothing. "You're going there for two weeks, right? why do you need to take so many different clothes? Just pack whatever you can."

Misaki shook her head as she folded the red silk dress. "I need to impress him, don't I? I have to make sure to take only my best clothes there."

Tsubasa frowned a little but kept his emotions under control this time. "If he really loved you, you wouldn't need to impress him by wearing nice clothes."

Misaki waved her hand as if what he had just said was nonsense, "Pish Posh. We do love each other. Plus I _want_ to look nice for him."

Tsubasa just shook his head at her as he continued watching them pack.

* * *

"Shit Shit Shit Shit Shit," Hotaru cussed as she clutched her phone in her hand.

"Calm down Hotaru," Mikan exclaimed. "How about I do it? I'm your best friend after all."

"No no no no," Hotaru violently shook her head. "I'm gonna try again." She took her phone and dialed some numbers.

Mikan just sighed and looked at her stressed best friend.

The two of them were currently in Hotaru's room. They had been hanging out when Hotaru got a sudden phone call. Her birthday party was just three days away and everything had been going according to the way Hotaru had been wanted it to. All of the decorations, flowers, and food she wanted was perfect in the party hall in the huge house. The decorators took her orders and did everything exactly as she wanted it done. Everything was perfect until fifteen minutes ago, when she got the call. Her entertainment wouldn't be able to make it. She was going to have one of her favorite bands perform but they had just canceled at the last minute, saying that one of the band members got the flu. Hotaru tried contacting them, but no matter what, they refused and apologized.

"Shit." Hotaru said for the last time before Mikan said again, "I really can do it, Hotaru. I can come on as Miss Nova."

"No. You're not gonna spend the night as Miss Nova on my birthday. Plus you prefer that people don't know that Mikan and the singer are not the same people, right?"

"It's fine. the entertainment is only an hour long, right? I can be Miss Nova for an hour, sneak away, redress and come back as Mikan for the rest of the night."

"I'm not letting you get up on stage like a slut bag hoe with all of the guys fawning over you. I don't want you to get raped. Especially on my birthday."

Mikan laughed at her. "I'm not going to get raped Hotaru. Plus you'll be there to look over me right? Plus I'll be sure to sing the songs that are less- as you would call them- slut bag hoe-y."

Hotaru sighed, "Don't you need permission from Kuonji or whoever to sing in public?"

Mikan grinned, "I already did, while you were on the phone earlier, I asked Kuonji if I could and he said yes." Mikan looked at her best friend again and added, "Plus You're my best friend, so you'll get a huge discount. No charge at all."

Hotaru couldn't refuse. She was already spending so much money on the party, a discount was what she needed to hear. She did have money, but being Hotaru, she loved money and saving money. With Mikan's offer, Hotaru grudgingly said, "Fine." Mikan knew her too well.

* * *

The day went by quickly, and before they knew it, it was the day of Misaki's flight. The morning went by quickly as Tsubasa, Mikan, and Misaki all hurried up to get ready to get to the airport on time.

By the time they got to the airport through all of the security checks, it was already fifteen minutes away from the flight time. They were all seated in the waiting area and Misaki was clutching her hand carry close to her. All of them had already said their goodbyes but couldn't help repeat how much they would miss one another. When Misaki's flight got called, the three of them hugged again for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

Mikan and Tsubasa watched Misaki's back as she walked away and waved for the last time before turning at the corner and disappearing.

"Two weeks without her. Wow. I'm really going to miss her, " Tsubasa whispered over to Mikan who wiped away a tear that had unnoticeably made its way down from one of her eyes. Mikan nodded, "Me too."

Being home without Misaki there just wasn't the same for Mikan. Of course, there were times when Mikan was home alone when Misaki went to work, but that was different because Mikan knew that Misaki would be back soon, not two whole weeks later. Misaki was gone for no more than three hours but Mikan already missed her.

Hotaru was also leaving in nine days to go back to Australia. She could tell that the days when neither Hotaru nor Misaki would be there were going to be a long and lonely ones. Even now, she felt lonely. Hotaru was busy planning for her birthday and would only see her later that evening. She would have asked Tsubasa to hang out with her, but he had work. That's right, it was a weekday. A thursday to be exact. Most of her friends were busy doing whatever it was that they were doing. She was lonely and bored out of her mind. She looked at the time. 1:45. She sighed.

She tried to think of friends whom she could hang out with again. She then remembered someone who might not be working or busy. She wasn't buddy-buddy with this person, but they knew each other. Maybe the person had a second job that Mikan didn't know about. But she couldn't be sure until she checked herself.

She went on her phone and ran her finger across the screen as she looked through her list of contacts. She stopped when she found the name she was looking for.

_Sumire Shouda_.

She dialed. Sumire Shouda was her makeup and hair artist. They didn't really talk much unless it was about Mikan's hair or makeup but Sumire was one of the very few people who knew that Mikan and Miss Nova were the same. Mikan was well aware that she was a bit snobby, but she knew that Sumire also had a softer side. Overall, even though she did seem a bit shallow at times, she really was a lot more than a superficial pretty face.

Mikan hoped that she would be available.

* * *

"Whooo! We love you Natsume!"

"Marry me!"

"You're so sexy!"

Natsume was very busy this day. He was on an outdoor stage where he could see thousands of people looking back at him and cheering for him. There were lots of guys there too but most of the screaming came from the love-struck girls. It wasn't really a concert but more of a promotion for his singles.

His manager, Tono, had suggested that this would be a good idea. Natsume wasn't forced to do it, but he decided that Tono was right. This would be a good way to promote his music, even though most people were watching it for free. Especially after all of the junk that he had been seeing on Mtv lately, he decided that it was up to singers like him to bring what he called "real music" back to the music industry.

All of his fans were screaming at him. Most people brought ear plugs because they expected the place to get this loud. Even though it was outdoors, the place was as loud as ever. The girls were awed by the way he looked. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans, but his semi muscular arms and toned chest were visible. He wore earrings that he always wore on a regular basis. His messy raven hair was the same as ever. But the crowd loved him. They whistled at the way he strummed his guitar and sang into the microphone.

"My next song," he said as he looked plainly through the crowd, "is called 'viva la vida'." (Viva la Vida: I do not own this song; it belongs to Coldplay.)

* * *

"I'm glad you called me. I was worried that I would have to go there by myself," Sumire was currently in Mikan's room in her condo. She was wearing a short light blue summer dress with spaghetti straps. The dress showed off her tall, thin, curvy figure.

Her hair always looked nice. It was a dark green shoulder length bob with the front two strands permed. It suited her facial features. She was a makeup and hair artist after all.

Many would describe her face as being "ornate." Her long eyelashes curled up. The way her eyeliner was worn made her eyes look cat-shaped. She wore a studded nose ring that highlighted her thin nose. Her full lips had distinct arcs on her cupid's bow. Her face overall was heart shaped with high cheek bones.

When Mikan called her, Sumire was a bit surprised. Sumire did have a second job, but she had the day off. Sumire was more than happy to hang out with Mikan- or more like drag Mikan with her so that she didn't look like a loner.

Sumire looked at Mikan from head to toe and scoffed. She had her right hand on her hip that was swayed to the right. "You're going looking like that?"

Mikan shrugged and looked at down at herself. She was wearing a plain pink shirt with flared jeans. "What's wrong with it? I don't even know where we're going."

Sumire snorted, "I told you. We're going to the Tokyo plaza. Natsume Hyuuga is singing there today. I've been dying to hear him sing live and I can't be seen there with you looking like _that_."

Before Mikan could say anything, Sumire had already opened up Mikan's closet in search for something she would deem as being appropriate to wear for the event. Mikan didn't even know who this Natsume Hyuuga dude was (When she heard the last name "Hyuuga," she had failed to recognize that it was the same as Aoi's. She didn't even guess that it was Aoi's brother.) Why would she dress up just to see him singing?

Mikan heard her murmur something about having to take Mikan shopping for a better wardrobe. Sumire, after doing some intense searching, finally found a purple halter dress. "You're going to wear this." She pushed the dress in Mikan's hand and quickly left the room so that Mikan could change.

Mikan sighed. There was no use arguing with Sumire. She was too stubborn, especially when it came down to fashion. When Mikan came out of her room wearing her dress to show Sumire, Sumire looked pleased, "Perfect." She went back into Mikan's room with Mikan following her and grabbed a brush and hair tie that was conveniently sitting on Mikan's dresser. She quickly brushed Mikan's hair to get rid of all of the knots and tangles and put it up in a high ponytail. She took one last look at Mikan and said, "Let's go."

The two of them were running through the streets of Tokyo to get to the Plaza on time... well more like Sumire was running and complaining about how much faster she was even though she was wearing heels and Mikan was wearing flats and Mikan was rolling her eyes and following Sumire.

The crowd was huge. They could hear Natsume talking, but couldn't see him. Mikan didn't care very much about this situation, but Sumire wasn't satisfied. _I didn't come here all this way just to hear him sing. I can do that on my Ipod. I need to see him._ She took hold of Mikan's wrist and pull her along while she pushed and shoved through the crowd to get a better look. Mikan knew how excited Sumire had been, so Mikan quietly compiled to Sumire's pulling.

They heard him say, "My next song is called 'Viva la Vida.'"

"I love this song," Sumire said. The screaming was intense so Mikan could barely hear her. Mikan cringed when the audience got louder. Sumire looked over her shoulder at Mikan and handed her earplugs that she had been holding. The earplugs didn't completely block out the screaming and they could still clearly hear Natsume singing, but they made sure that the two girls didn't go deaf.

Once Mikan put them on, her ears felt a lot better and Sumire once again grabbed her wrist and pulled her through the crowd. Some people shot her dirty looks when she suddenly ran into them and she tried apologizing, but they couldn't hear her.

(Coldplay owns this song once again; I don't.)

_I used to rule the world_

_Seas would rise when I gave the word_

_Now in the morning I sleep alone_

_Sweep the streets I used to own_

_I used to roll the dice_

_Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes_

_Listen as the crowd would sing_

_"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"_

Mikan immediately loved the song as soon as she heard it. She had never heard any of Natsume's songs before or even heard of this singer. He had a good voice. Mikan was still being dragged through the crowd and when Sumire finally stopped dragging and let go of her wrist, Mikan looked up.

_One minute I held the key_

_Next the walls were closed on me_

_And I discovered that my castles stand_

_Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand_

_I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing_

_Roman Cavalry choirs are singing_

_Be my mirror, my sword and shield_

_My missionaries in a foreign field_

_For some reason I can't explain_

_Once you go there was never_

_Never an honest word_

_And that was when I ruled the world_

She saw him. And as soon as she saw him, she recognized him. She was shocked. The rude guy from the mall was him! It hit her. _Natsume Hyuuga. Of course! Aoi's last name is Hyuuga._

He was great on stage. She recognized something in him that she didn't have when she performed. And that was emotion. He looked as if he was feeling the intensity of the music in him. His body expression. His face. His voice. They all showed it. He related to and felt the music he sang. It looked genuine. And it looked sexy on him. She probably would have been screaming along with the rest of the crowd if she hadn't known what he was really like off stage.

_It was the wicked and wild wind_

_Blew down the doors to let me in_

_Shattered windows and the sound of drums_

_People couldn't believe what I'd become_

_Revolutionaries wait_

_For my head on a silver plate_

_Just a puppet on a lonely string_

_Oh who would ever want to be king?_

_I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing_

_Roman Cavalry choirs are singing_

_Be my mirror, my sword and shield_

_My missionaries in a foreign field_

_For some reason I can't explain_

_I know Saint Peter won't call my name_

_Never an honest word_

_But that was when I ruled the world_

_I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing_

_Roman Cavalry choirs are singing_

_Be my mirror, my sword and shield_

_My missionaries in a foreign field_

_For some reason I can't explain_

_I know Saint Peter won't call my name_

_Never an honest word_

_But that was when I ruled the world _

She had chills by the end of the song. No matter how much she disliked him and thought of him as being insolent, she understood why he had so many fans. The audience was the loudest when he finished singing. She didn't really understand what his lyrics were trying to say. She had a feeling that it was all a big metaphor. She loved it nonetheless.

She took note of how he didn't wave or smile at the crowd like she normally did when she was done performing. He just stood there and looked out plainly as if he was bored and was waiting for the screaming and applause to go away. _What an ungrateful man._

By the end of the whole thing, it was already four o' clock. Half of the crowd had left at the end, the other half had either stayed to ask for an autograph and a picture from him or just to stare at him. Sumire stayed in hopes of getting an autograph and Mikan stayed because Sumire stayed.

When Natsume got offstage, Mikan could feel herself getting dragged by Sumire again. Sumire gasped when she heard Mikan say, "I don't want his autograph."

Sumire frowned at her, "And why the hell not? You've seen and heard him."

They could hear each other talk now that half of the crowd was gone. Mikan told Sumire about her encounter with Natsume Hyuuga and his sister at the mall. "He's an asshole. but his sister is really nice," Mikan said to end her story.

Sumire stared at her, "You lucky bitch. You got to touch Natsume- freaking- Hyuuga's wallet and look at him face to face and you're complaining?"

Mikan rolled her eyes, "It's not a big deal Sumire."

Sumire scrunched her nose, "Yes, it is a huge deal. I know that you're also a superstar and all so it may not seem like a big deal to you. But it is a big deal. Even if he was rude, you still got to talk to him."

Mikan just shook her head. Sumire looked at her, "I thought you knew that. I thought that with your own crazy fans you would know that it is a big deal."

Mikan looked at her with a confused expression that showed that she didn't quite understand where Sumire was going at. Sumire sighed and continued, "Well, you know, if you were to slap someone one of your fans across the face, they wouldn't be offended. They would probably not wash that side of that face for the rest of their lives and maybe even tattoo the hand print on their face."

"That's crazy, Sumire. That is so not true!"

"It is true." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Mikan could see that after all of that walking, they were very close to Natsume.

Was what Sumire said really true? Was it possible for people to be so crazy for someone? Even if they treat you like trash, you're supposed to admire them? It didn't make sense to Mikan, but she continued to follow Sumire.

Mikan spoke again, "I have fans like that? Hmm. Who knew?"

Sumire rolled her eyes at Mikan again, "Everyone knew. I probably would be as crazy as those fans for you if I wasn't your makeup and hair artist. I'm used to it by now."

Mikan found this very hard to believe.

Once they reached Natsume, Sumire practically begged for an autograph on her blue dress. Mikan was just standing quietly beside her. Natsume rolled his eyes and signed the back of her dress with a permanent marker that Sumire evidently had with her. When she broke out in smiles, Natsume sighed a breath of annoyance. His eyes flickered over at Mikan and recognized her as the girl from the mall. _Ugh it's the girl who pickpocketed by wallet and tried giving Aoi the tickets. Let's just get this over with._

He glared at her for a few seconds before blandly asking her, "Where do you want yours?"

She frowned, shook her head and said, "I don't want one."

The initial look on Natsume's face for a fraction of a second was shock. "Wha-"

His face quickly changed back to its stolid form but he still had one of his eyebrows raised as he narrowed his eyes to examine the girl who was now busy trying to get her friend to stop fawning over him and leave.

"Sumire, let's go." He saw the girl say to her friend.

"Mikan... shhhh... Natsume-kun is here." He heard Sumire wave off Mikan's comment and she continued to admire him.

It wasn't that Natsume enjoyed giving out autographs to girls (in fact that was his least favorite part of the job), but this was something he wasn't used to. Something that had never happened to him before. No girl (or guy) had ever refused an autograph from him. Even if they weren't into the type of music that he sang, they had always been amazed by his performances. He was confused. Was it really possible that a girl would simply not want _his_ autograph? (Not to mention it was a huge blow to his ego.)

He really was curious, "What? You didn't enjoy the show?"

Mikan shrugged. Without directly answering his question, she blatantly replied, "I think you're rude."

Sumire was too busy staring at his face and giggling like a little school girl to even notice the dialogues that went on between Mikan and Natsume. The only things she could hear were her own thoughts in her head about how especially gorgeous he looked in person.

He was taken aback. He was well aware of how he treated girls... he knew that he didn't treat them nicely to say the very least. But had anyone really cared? Especially if _he _was right in front of them? Hadn't they all just gushed over him?

_Did I misinterpret her at the mall? Is she actually not a fangirl?_

In a matter of seconds, he just stood there and simply watched as Mikan physically took hold of Sumire's hand and dragged her away from the boy. He watched her retreating back, still surprised by the whole situation. _Well that was a first._

As they walked away from the plaza and onto the Tokyo streets, Mikan looked over at Sumire who still looked starstruck. "I can't believe that you let him ruin your beautiful dress like that! Now you've got permanent marker stains on it. It's never gonna go away."

Sumire sneered at her, "Ruined?! I think you meant made it better. I'm never wearing this dress again. It's going to sit in my closet as a souvenir."

Mikan just laughed, "You're crazy."

* * *

Hmm. I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Review?


	6. Hotaru's Birthday

I DO NOT own Gakuen Alice... :P Just in case you thought otherwise... Thank you to those who have been reading and reviewing! :)

** I just realized that when I copied and pasted this story from Microsoft Word onto the doc manager on fanfiction, a lot of the formatting (such as italics) were removed, which makes the tense and the view points a bit hard to follow. I fixed that problem and replaced this chapter with the proper formatting. :)**

* * *

"Man, you are way too anxious for this," Natsume said looking at his best friend in amusement. Ruka was examining himself in the mirror of his room as he tried on all of his suits and ties, trying to figure out which one looked the best on him.

"I'm not anxious!" Ruka argued back. "I'm just looking forward to Hotaru's birthday party and I want to look nice."

Natsume leaned back on the spinny chair he was sitting in, "Yeah, right."

Ruka ignored his comment. He looked at Natsume as he put on one of the coats. "Does this look better on me?" He took that one off and put another one on, "Or this one?"

This made Natsume chuckle, "You're crazy. They're both the same."

"No, you've got to tell me. Which one is better?"

Natsume had never in his entire life seen Ruka like this before._ Just friends? Yeah right._ Ruka never cared about which suit looked better on him. Even for job interviews, he just threw on a clean one. What was happening to him?

Natsume raised his eyebrow and pointed at the one in Ruka's right hand.

"Ok," He heard Ruka sigh as he tried to decide which tie looked the best with it. He looked over at Natsume, "What color dress do you think Hotaru will be wearing?"

Natsume just shrugged, "How the hell am I supposed to know?" He continued teasing with a smirk, "What? You want to match your tie with her dress?"

Ruka blushed. His face resembled a ripe tomato, "W-what?! N-no! Of course not! I-I was just curious." He stammered as he tried to turn his blushing face away from Natsume's view.

Natsume chuckled for the second time that day.

"Plus," Ruka added, "Why are you just sitting there? Hotaru told me you could come. You're coming."

Natsume rolled his eyes, "I don't even know the girl. I've never even talked to her before. I can't just show up at her birthday party like that."

"It's fine. You can talk to her there. I already told her that you were coming. You can't just not show up. Hotaru plans very carefully. She would know if you didn't come and you don't even want to know what she is capable of doing if you don't keep your word." Ruka finally ended up picking a purple tie, which "coincidentally" was the same shade as Hotaru's eyes.

Natsume rolled his eyes, "It wasn't my word. It was yours. You're the one who told her I would come."

"Either way, I'll be there. And if you're not, you'll get the beating later, not me."

Natsume just sighed, "I'll go. But the party is in more than two hours. I don't know why the hell you're getting all dressed up and pretty now, but I'm going to wait and do that when it's actually time."

Ruka shook his head, "You don't even know what you're going to wear yet. You don't, do you?"

"I'll just throw on whatever I can find in my closet."

"You talk as if you're going on a simple walk in the park. You need to look nice."

"Whatever."

* * *

Mikan was in Hotaru's house in the party hall. She was watching as her crew set up all of her equipments. She looked around the room. Hotaru really had great taste when it came to decorations. Everything was Hotaru's favorite color: purple. All of the flowers were set up beautifully. The banners, everything was perfect. The party was in less than an hour and Mikan was sure that the guests would be just as amazed as her when they arrive.

Mikan was already in her Miss Nova clothes and makeup... courtesy of Sumire Shouda. After their little hang out that day, they seemed a lot closer. While Sumire was doing Mikan's makeup, their conversation actually involved things not related to hair and makeup. They were laughing and having a good time. Just one day of hanging out had already brought them so much closer.

When she was cued to do so, Mikan got up on her stage and tested her microphone. "Test 1, 2." Too loud. One of the crew members turned the volume down a little.

Mikan started singing and dancing to one of her songs just to test and get used to the stage. After just a few minutes, she was comfortable. That was when she saw Hotaru walk in and look at her. "I knew that this was going to be a bad idea. You're going to get raped."

Mikan just shook her head, "I am not going to get raped."

Hotaru sighed, "Do you always have to be half naked on stage?"

Mikan looked down at what she was wearing. She had to admit that it was uncomfortable. She wasn't even wearing proper fabric. Her outfit was made out of stiff metal gems. The gems were colorful and shone beautifully in the stage light. They didn't cover her whole body. The outfit was designed like a romper, except her abs were showing and the only things that kept the outfit as a one piece were thin metal metal strands that crisscrossed at her back. Her brunette hair had colorful extensions in them. There were more of the pink, green, yellow, purple, and blue strands that showed than her natural color.

Mikan shrugged, "I didn't chose the outfit. I never do."

Hotaru rolled her eyes, "Let me guess. Kuonji makes the decisions about that too?"

Mikan nodded.

Hotaru hadn't forgotten how suspicious this Kuonji guy seemed. Without Mikan knowing, Hotaru had already started her research on him. She hadn't found much because she had been too busy planning for her birthday party, but she was sure that after the party was over, she would immediately boost up the amount of time and effort she spent on her research. She was sure to find out exactly what the guy was up to.

* * *

The loud music that the DJ was playing could be heard by people outside of the house. It had been an hour since the party started but people who liked being "fashionably late" were still arriving.

It was a fancy party where everyone dressed nicely and the food was elegant (and delicious), but there was still the typical drinking and dancing that was found at every party. The mini-bar was busy with bartender filling up everyone's orders. Hotaru took one look and knew that she needed to call for one more bartender if she didn't one the one now to pass out from all of the running around.

Mikan was waiting for her cue to go on stage as the entertainment. She was due to perform very soon- in less than fifteen minutes actually. It was the first time she was performing without Kuonji watching her. She was determined either way to make her performance phenomenal.

Ruka, with Natsume behind him, met Hotaru. Ruka greeted her with a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and a "Happy birthday." He introduced Natsume and Hotaru to one another. From one look into Natsume's crimson eyes, Hotaru remembered Mikan's story about the rude guy she had encountered at the mall._ So this is Ruka's best friend huh? Could he be the same guy?_

Hotaru just nodded at him and he did the same. Natsume was actually looking at her to figure out what about her made his best friend act to strange. She seemed unusually quiet. She was pretty but in a unique way. She didn't have the typical face of a pretty person. Her features actually seemed a bit off the longer he stared at her, but it didn't look odd. It suited her personality.

Before the two of them knew it, Hotaru was already off, dragged by her other guests who greeted her.

As the crowd was still dancing, they heard DJ turn the music off. Some people still continued dancing even without the music in their drunken state.

Suddenly, all of the lights went off. The only light that was on was the stage light that focused on a certain superstar. At that point, everyone had gone silent to look at what or who was on stage. After they realized that it was Miss Nova on stage, they cheered and screamed. The place got loud as it filled with whistles and screams. She waved at the crowd and finally spoke into the mike once she was sure that she had everyone's attention.

"Is everyone having a good time here?" The cheering got louder.

"Well what do you say, I sing a few songs for you?" The cheering got even louder.

Your Love is my Drug

(Ke$ha owns this song, not me)

_Maybe I need some rehab_

_Or maybe just need some sleep_

_I got a sick obsession_

_I'm seeing it in my dreams_

_I'm lookin' down every alley_

_I'm making those desperate calls_

_I'm staying up all night hoping hitting my head against the wall_

From a little stool at the bar, Natsume was drinking some champagne while watching her performance. He had to admit that she did have a nice voice and a great stage presence. But he didn't like her. He didn't like her songs. He hated the theme of all of them. He hated what she was wearing. He hated her makeup. He hated the way she was dancing seductively on stage. It would be really bad if the next generation decided to follow her footsteps.

_What you got boy, is hard to find_

_I think about it all the time_

_I'm all strung out my heart is fried_

_I just cant get you off my mind!_

_Because your love your love your love is my drug_

_Your love your love your love_

_(I said)_

_Your love your love your love is my drug_

_Your love your love your love_

_Won't listen to any advice_

_Momma's telling me I should think twice_

_But look into my own devices, I'm addicted it's a crisis_

_My friends think I've gone crazy_

_My judgments gettin' kinda hazy_

_My steeze is gonna be affected if I keep it up like a love sick crack head_

He watched the crowd go wild for her. Did they not care about the messages she was sending to them? Did they not care about the way she was dressed? Did they actually enjoy watching her half naked on stage? But then again, hormonal guys weren't sane at all times, especially when it came to hot girls like her. But she also had a wide range of female fans as well.

_What you got boy, is hard to find_

_I think about it all the time_

_I'm all strung out my heart is fried_

_I just cant get you off my mind!_

_Because your love your love your love is my drug_

_Your love your love your love_

_(I said)_

_Your love your love your love is my drug_

_Your love your love your love_

_I don't care what people say_

_The rush is worth the price I pay_

_I get so high when you're with me_

_But crash and crave you when you leave_

_Hey, so I got a question_

_Do you wanna have a slumber party in my basement?_

_Do I make your heart beat like an 808 drum_

_Is my love your drug?_

_Your drug?_

_Huh, your drug?_

_Huh, your drug?_

_Is my love your drug?_

He saw most people dancing. They enjoyed music that they could dance to, huh? No matter what the message of the song was, was it considered a "good" song if it made them want to have a good time and dance?

_Because your love your love your love is my drug_

_Your love your love your love_

_(I said)_

_Your love your love your love is my drug_

_Your love your love your love_

_Because your love your love your love is my drug_

_Your love your love your love_

_(I said)_

_Your love your love your love is my drug_

_Your love your love your love_

_Hey, hey, so_

_You love, your love your love, is my drug_

She sang three more of her songs. For each of the songs, Natsume observed how the songs were practically meaningless. How the crowd went wild for her nonetheless. And how extremely upbeat all of her songs were.

By the end of her last song, everyone was exhausted from all of the dancing. She took a final look at the crowd and said, "Thank you" as she waved and blew kisses at them. As she was about to get off stage, she could tell that she would be attacked by many of her fans. She cued the bodyguards standing next to the stage to help her get off without being attacked.

She didn't always mind when her fans came up to her to ask her for an autograph, but she was just way too thirsty at the moment. Singing four songs for an hour without even a single drop of water in between each one was a bad idea. Her throat was killing her. It was just too dry and she was sure that if she didn't get something to drink now, she would surely lose her voice.

The two bodyguards surrounded her and blocked the crowd from her as she indicated that she wanted to go to the bar. She successfully arrived with the help of her bodyguard without being attacked. She was so happy that she made it that she happily and politely asked the bartender for some pepsi and failed to notice who she was standing besides.

She felt someone looking at her from her side. She turned her head to the side to see who it was and when she did, her eyes (with blue contacts) met crimson ones. She slightly frowned before remembering that she wasn't Mikan, she was Miss Nova at the moment. And he had never met Miss Nova before. So she had to keep her cool. _Why is he here? Does Hotaru know him?_ The crimson eyes startled her less now than it did when she saw them for the first time, but she still couldn't look into them for more than a few seconds. She looked back at the bartender to avoid eye contact as she waited for him to find some pepsi and bring it to her._ So no fangirls today here, huh? I guess the glaring really does scare them away._

After the bartender finally got her some pepsi, she almost drank the whole can down at once. Her throat finally felt itself come back to life and she could talk again without her voice sounding raspy.

She felt his eyes on her again and when she was about to look at him again to politely ask him to stop looking at her, she heard him say with ridicule in his voice, "You come to a bar and order pepsi?"

She saw that he was drinking champagne and she looked back at her own drink and shrugged. "I don't drink. I never have. Maybe I will sometime in the future, but for now, I don't drink. You know, your brain is still growing until you're in you're in your early to mid twenties. And alcohol only slows down the process."

His face seemed stoic but his head was filled with confusion. She heard him scoff, "So you're telling me that you sing about being a "lovesick crackhead," but you've never even had a sip of alcohol in your life because you're afraid that your brain won't fully grow if you do?"

She heard the obvious sarcasm in his voice but she still nodded which surprised him even more. It wasn't long before she finished her drink and left the party with her bodyguards. But Natsume's head was still filled with astonishment.

He was genuinely surprised. How could it be? He was sure that the girl had lost her virginity by the age of twelve, and now she was telling him that she doesn't even drink. But what about all of her songs about partying and drinking? He was confused. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that things weren't matching up.

* * *

About half an hour later, Mikan, with Sumire's help, had managed to get all of her makeup off of her face and all of the colorful extensions off of her hair. She only put moisturizer on her face along with light mascara and lip gloss. Her hair was let down with small curls at the bottom. Her metal outfit was replaced with a light pink strapless dress.

As Mikan made her way back into the party, she looked around for Hotaru. She walked around the party hall, turning her head, but Hotaru was nowhere to be found. It was just too crowded to easily be able to look for one specific person and it was easy to get caught in between people.

"Crap," she said as she nearly tripped on her heels as some drunk dancing guy accidentally bumped into her. After fifteen minutes of searching, she still had no clue where Hotaru was. The crowd was just too big for her to go through. She sighed and finally gave up after realizing that her search was going nowhere.

She was also sweating from all of the searching as well as the numerous people around her. She decided that she would cool off. She started squeezing and weaving her way through the crowd towards the bathroom. When she reached the bathroom, she saw that there was a line there. Ten other people wanted to use the bathroom as well. She groaned before she realized that this was Hotaru's house. And this was only the party hall of the house. The guests were told to only stay in the party hall and stay out of rest of the house but Mikan figured that she wasn't a guest. She was Hotaru's best friend dammit!

She again squeezed her way through the crowd and sneaked out of the party hall. She sighed as she felt the cool air of the house refresh her sweaty skin. It was so relaxing to be out of that loud and overheated place.

She had been in Hotaru's house tons of times. She was well aware of her way around. She walked her way around the corner towards the kitchen. It wasn't completely dark. It was nighttime but the moon and the stars shone through the windows making the room partially visible even without the lamps turned on.

She was about to turn the lights on when she noticed the back of a male figure sitting still near and facing the glass door of the balcony in the kitchen. All she could see was the back of the black leather chair and the back of the head (with black messy hair) of the figure that looked sort familiar... but she couldn't quite remember or make out who it could've been.

She forgot about the lights and walked a bit closer towards the figure but still maintained a distance of about six feet behind him. She politely spoke to him, "Excuse me, but this part of the house is off limits to guests."

No response. She walked a few feet closer. "Excuse me. Did you hear me?"

Still no response. At this point, Mikan walked directly behind the guy and gently tapped him on the back. "Excuse me?" Even when she poked him, he didn't respond. She spoke again in a fearful tone, "Are you dead?"

She heard the figure sigh before he turned around to look at her. "Shut up, will you?" When she saw his face, specifically his crimson eyes (in which the color was even more emphasized now due to the shine of the moon that reflected off of his face and eyes), she inwardly groaned. Natsume Hyuuga..._ Of course, he's here; I ran into him earlier as Miss Nova. How could I have forgotten?_

"It's you!" Mikan screamed, pointing at his face with a frown on her's. Screaming "it's you!" wasn't a great response. But it was instinctual.

Natsume was surprised by her presence as well. How in the world was he supposed to know that out of all of the places in Tokyo, this girl was going to be at this one specific party that he was going to be in as well? _Why am I running into her so much these days?_ But he kept his face stoic as he just looked at her semi surprised, semi disgusted face.

Natsume just raised one of his eyebrows at the pointed finger in front of his face before cockily replying, "Yes, me. Now, if you don't have anything intelligent to say, leave me alone."

He heard Mikan scoff as she lowered her pointed finger and rested her hand on her hips, "Of course, rude as always. I told you. Guests aren't allowed here. Go back to the party hall."

Natsume didn't budge but simply asked, "Aren't you a guest? You should be back there as well."

"Well," Mikan said in a matter-of-fact tone with her nose in the air before proudly exclaiming, "I am Hotaru's bestest friend. I'm allowed to be here." She looked back down at Natsume's face. "You, on the other hand, are just a guy who needs to learn his proper manners and go back to the party hall."

Natsume didn't say anything. From the few encounters they had so far, this girl didn't fail to surprise Natsume with almost everything she did. He wasn't sure about her intentions when he met her at the mall with his wallet. But it was clear to him at the plaza that she definitely was not a fangirl. She didn't even want his autograph for god's sake! Even when she heard him singing, even when she got a good look at his gorgeous face, she was still concerned about him not being nice. She really was an unusual girl. He found her kind of annoying. But a different annoying from his fangirl. He didn't mind this girl's annoying that much... he could actually stand it as opposed to the level of annoying that the fangirls put him through.

He turned his head away from Mikan and gazed back to the balcony. Mikan was irritated that this guy wasn't listening to what she was saying. "What are you even looking at?" She asked curiously as she turned her gaze out through the clear glass door out to the balcony.

Mikan's eyes widened and jaw dropped at what she saw. She felt her knees go weak as she took a seat in a chair next to Natsume's and stuttered, "O-oh m-my god!"

She then knew why Natsume was up here away from the party. He had something better to look at. Something way more entertaining and shocking.

* * *

BYE for now :)... It's a cliffhanger, isn't it? :P review?


	7. Out in the Balcony

I don't own the amazing manga/anime... Gakuen Alice!

hahaha I guess I couldn't trick you guys so well. Most of you guessed correctly about the cliffie being related to Ruka and Hotaru. I guess it was kind of obvious, huh? Since I've been so late with my last few updates... I decided to do this one relatively sooner. :)

And I also like to thank you guys for reading, and especially for your reviews! I really do appreciate them. And I really enjoy reading your feedback and suggestions. I thought it would only be fair to spend some of my time to acknowledge each of you who have reviewed and thank you individually. (The italicized names were guest accounts)

**_day_**_-_ Thank you! :)

**lookintomyeyes' red ink**- I really appreciate you beta-ing my chapters as well as leaving a review for each of my chapters. You've really helped me ALOT. If I would send you cookies over the internet, I would. :D

**_Ai Sakura_**- Thank you! :)

**Papaya-san**- THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time to read and review ALL of my chapters that I've written so far! It really means alot. I really enjoy reading the little notes and nice comments and feedback you leave for me... they actually motivate me to write more of this story! So thank you again :)

**_Guest_**- I'm a little scared, but I appreciate that you enjoy reading my stuff :). So thank you!

**Glittering Flame**- Thank you so much! I will do so! :)

**Errant Ember**- hahah thank you :)... It actually just randomly came across my mind after I finished writing one day.

**Ree-Vance**- Thank you!

**mybeyondinfinity**- I agree! Thank you for reading! :)

**Devilish Dream**- Thank you so much! I'm glad that the summary is finally somewhat good and that you're enjoying reading the story. :)

**LexaStarr**- Thank you :) and you were right with your guess!

**_bjb33_**- Thank you sooo much! :)))

**Enilezah**- Thank you for reading and reviewing! :)... you were really close with your guess :D

**_AnimeMango_**- Thank you sooo much! It really means alot to me that you're enjoying my writing. :)

**MjaoCait**- Awwww! Thank you sooo much! :) Your comment made me smile so much!

**BlueNinja10101**- And you would be correct! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

**fralala-chan**- hahah I'm just about to :)... Thank you for reading and reviewing! :)

**namie015**- hahah I'm glad you're enjoying! Thank you!

* * *

Mikan just sat speechless on her chair as her jaw was still hanging. Natsume was entertained by the scene outside. He was a bit surprised... but also amused and sort of proud. The smirk on his face grew. _Finally._

Mikan rubbed her eyes a few times before closing her mouth and looking over to Natsume at her side. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Natsume just bluntly replied, not taking his eyes off of the scene, "Why don't you just try punching yourself really hard in the face to find out?"

Mikan folded her arms and pouted, "Meanie. There's no use talking to you."

Natsume just took one glance at the pouting girl and rolled his eyes in amusement at her childishness.

Mikan looked back at the scene outside. Never in a million years did she think that she would be able to witness such a thing. She was over her initial shock. She now believed that she was awake, but couldn't help but wonder what was happening.

Outside on the balcony, in the moonlight, were two people slow dancing. The two people were Hotaru and Ruka to be exact. Hotaru had her head rested on his chest. Her left hand was held by his right hand and her free hand was rested on his shoulder. Ruka had his free hand on her waist. Mikan wasn't sure if there was any music at all. They seemed to be dancing in complete silence.

Never in her life had Mikan seen Hotaru dancing... especially slow dancing with a boy. Mikan was sure that Hotaru would have killed herself before agreeing to dance with a boy. Mikan had seen the violent ways in which she rejected her fanboys who asked her to dance. What was happening to Hotaru now?

Mikan hadn't seen Ruka in over two years (she wasn't ever buddy-buddy with him. She just knew him through Hotaru and had seen him only a couple of times.) She took note of how much more mature he looked. He was also slightly taller now. His hair had grown a bit. She didn't fail to notice the way he was looking down on Hotaru. The look in his eyes was so familiar to her. But she couldn't put her finger on where she had seen a similar look before.

Then it hit her. Tsubasa. It was the same look that Tsubasa had in his eyes when he looked at Misaki. Mikan wasn't exactly sure what that look meant... why Ruka looked at Hotaru the way he did and why Tsubasa looked at Misaki the same way. She just got a warm feeling when she saw it. She could tell was that the guys really did care about the girls. All she could do was smile a little and hope that one day she could find someone who looked at her the same way.

Because Mikan and Natsume kept the lights off in the kitchen, it went unnoticed to Ruka and Hotaru that they were being watched. They were both too occupied thinking about themselves to worry about bystanders spying on them. Mikan thought of this as very ironic as it was usually Hotaru who was doing the spying, not being the one spied on.

Mikan and Natsume saw the two of them stop dancing but their hands were still held together. Hotaru and Ruka took a seat on the chairs next to each other on the balcony. The chairs leaned back so that it gave them a direct view of the sky and the stars above them.

"I wish I could hear what they were saying," Mikan whispered over to Natsume as she clutched the sides of the seat of her chair in curiosity. Natsume responded with no more than a grunt. He kind of felt bad for spying on his best friend. He knew that Ruka had feelings for Hotaru (as much as Ruka loved denying it.) Natsume never thought that Ruka actually would get the courage to make a move. With the scene outside, Natsume was curious about whether or not Ruka was finally going to do something.

Mikan got off of her chair and walked over to the window next to the glass door that lead to the balcony. She unlocked the hinges on the window and tried to pull to it up. Unfortunately, it was too tight for her. It didn't budge. She remembered that was the same window that Hotaru hadn't had the time to fix. It required extra strength for it to be opened. That why was no one barely used that window... resulting in it being even more tighter (it was like a cycle.)

Mikan looked over at Natsume and pointed at the window, "Help me with this thing."

Natsume clicked his tongue in a condescending way as if to say "you're so weak." Mikan frowned at that but stayed quiet as she watched Natsume effortlessly open the window and give her a quick look that had "HA!" written all over it.

After Mikan and Natsume took their seats again, Natsume whispered over to Mikan, "You're probably stupid enough to not realize this, but now that the window is open, they can hear us too if we don't whisper."

Mikan glared at Natsume as she hissed, "I know that!"

"The stars are really beautiful." They heard Ruka's voice. "Don't you think so, Hotaru?"

Hotaru nodded as she fixed her eyes on the sky above. Ruka was still holding her hand and gently playing with her fingers.

"When was the last time we did this? I mean watch the stars together?" Ruka asked her.

"The day before I left for Australia," Hotaru easily replied. "We went to the rooftop, ate tons of chocolate, and watched the sky. It was a particularly clear night- no clouds. Just stars "

Ruka smiled, "I remember that. Good times."

Hotaru nodded. They enjoyed the night sky for a few more minutes in silence. Hands held. Eyes on the stars.

"Do you think they're going to do anything?" Mikan whispered as she continued to watch the silence outside.

Natsume didn't reply but he was actually thinking the same thing. He was hoping that Ruka would do something. By what he was watching tonight, meeting Hotaru for the first time, and seeing the two of them together, Natsume was sure that Hotaru was in love with him too. Though she had more of a poker face, Natsume could sense that Hotaru thought of Ruka as more than a good friend.

Nothing new was happening outside. Ruka and Hotaru were just watching the stars without talking. Mikan decided to make her own conversation. She looked at Natsume who was sitting in the chair next to hers. She saw and kind of admired the way the moon was shining on his face, hiding any imperfections that would have been present in the daylight and making his skin look flawless at the moment. It drew more attention to his cheekbones and jawline. _He's so good looking. If only he wasn't so rude..._

"So, how do you know Hotaru?" Mikan asked (whispering, of course), not really expecting him to answer but hoping that he would.

"Met her for the first time tonight at this party." Natsume replied as he was getting pretty bored as well.

"What?" Mikan was surprised. "Why are you here if you didn't even know her?"

"Why are you so nosy?"

Mikan pouted, "I'm just trying to make small talk... plus I'm kind of curious." Natsume turned his head to see Mikan smiling a little. With only a hint of her summer tan still left on her face, the limited natural lighting made her face look as if it was glowing. Her big brown eyes matched the sweet innocent smile on her face. She looked seraphic at the moment.

"Ruka forced me to come."

"Oh, so you know Ruka?"

"Obviously."

Mikan giggled softly, "So that would make sense as to why you're spying on them. You're spying on Ruka. And I'm spying on Hotaru."

As Mikan and Natsume's conversation ended, Ruka spoke again. "We should go inside. The guests are probably looking for you."

Hotaru sighed, "It's so noisy and crowded there. I'd rather just stay out here with you." She stood up from her chair nonetheless and Ruka followed her action. They were still hand in hand. Hotaru was about to lead the way back into the house with Ruka following behind her when Ruka suddenly called out her name.

Hotaru turned around to look at Ruka, "What?"

Ruka didn't know what made him call out her name like that. He didn't really have anything to say to her... all he knew was that he had a sudden urge to call out to her. He slightly blushed as he pushed aside a strand of hair from her face. "I-I just... you look really nice tonight."

Hotaru bit her lower lip at his comment. She didn't know what made her want to do it, but the next thing she knew, she put both of her hands on Ruka's cheeks, stood on her tiptoes, and crashed her lips into his. Ruka looked shocked for a fraction of a second before he closed his eyes and let the sparks and electricity shoot through his body.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Mikan nearly fell out of her chair. Her jaw dropped and she was incapable of getting words out of her mouth. Natsume was also shocked. Although his reaction wasn't shown on a superficial level like Mikan's was, he was still bewildered. _So she had to be the first to make a move, huh? Whatever happened to being the man?_

They broke away from the kiss which lasted twelve seconds to be exact (Ruka counted in his head.) They didn't say anything but started walking back to the kitchen again.

Mikan realized that Ruka and Hotaru were coming in. "Crap." She looked over to see that Natsume had already gotten off of his seat and was walking towards a cupboard to hide behind it. She quickly ran after him, following him behind the cupboard.

Just as she made it, Ruka and Hotaru walked in.

"Why are you following me?" Natsume whispered to Mikan. They were merely millimeters away from each other since the cupboard was only just big enough to hide the two of them. Their arms slightly touched. Mikan could hear Natsume breathing.

"Sorry," She whispered back. "I just panicked."

Mikan peered out from behind the cupboard and kneeled down on the ground so that Natsume, who was standing, could get a good look as well. They watched Hotaru close the glass door after Ruka walked in.

Hotaru, as she stood next to Ruka, felt a slight breeze on her arm. She turned towards the direction of the breeze to see that the window was open. "Someone was here, watching us," she told Ruka.

Ruka gaped, "What?! How do you know that?"

Hotaru pointed at the window. "That window was closed when we went out. No one ever opens it."

"Crap," Mikan whispered as she watched. "We forgot about the window." Her heart was thumping a little in fear that Hotaru would find out.

Hotaru walked over to the chairs that were aligned in front of the glass door and closely examined them. On the one that Mikan had been sitting on, she saw something. She picked up a strand of long brown hair. She ran her fingers along the strand as she looked at it from root to tip. "And I know who it was. Mikan."

From behind the cupboard, Mikan was freaking out. She could hear her heart pounding in her ear because she was so scared. "Oh no! She's on to us! she's on to us!" Mikan whispered.

Natsume solely smirked, "You mean she's on to _you_. I wasn't idiotic enough to leave behind my hair as pure evidence."

Ruka walked over to Hotaru to look at the strand, "You mean _Mikan_ was here? Watching us?"

Hotaru nodded. "She wasn't alone. There was at least one other person with her."

Ruka was bewildered, "What? Who? How do you know that?"

Hotaru replied, "There was no way she could've opened that window by herself. It's damn tight. She would've needed to a strong male to open it. And judging by the warmth of these chairs, whoever was with her was sitting here." Hotaru pointed at the chair that Natsume had been sitting in.

Mikan glanced at Natsume above her and said, "Nope. She's on to you too." She earned a good glare from Natsume.

Hotaru continued talking, "I can also tell by the warmth that they didn't leave too long ago. They left just as we were about to come in. That means that they didn't get too far. They're still in here hiding somewhere, listening to us."

Ruka looked amazed at Hotaru, "You're a genius Hotaru."

Hotaru's simple reply was "I know," to which Ruka laughed.

Hotaru spoke out, "Mikan. I know you're in here. Come out now before I find you."

Natsume could hear Mikan gulping in fear. Mikan just froze on the spot, not knowing whether or not she should present herself to Hotaru.

Hotaru spoke out again, "Mikan come out here. Whoever is with her, come out too."

"Should've known we couldn't trick Hotaru," Mikan whispered.

"We?" Natsume replied, "You're the one who screwed up. It was your suggestion to open the window. And it was your hair. She would've never known if it wasn't for you."

Mikan frowned at Natsume putting the whole blame on her. Mikan shook her head, "That's not true! You _agreed_ to opening the window and actually opened the window yourself. We were in this together. Plus Hotaru's way too smart. She would've figured it out either way."

"How are you going to figure out who was with Mikan?" Ruka asked Hotaru.

"Well," Hotaru started speaking. "I could just-"

But before she could continue, the four heard a voice... Hotaru's brother's voice to be exact. "Oh there you are Hotaru. Everyone's been looking all over for you. What're you even doing up here with Ruka?"

"It got too hot and suffocating. Needed some fresh air," Hotaru replied back to her brother.

"Well, it's your party. You can't just leave like that. C'mon, let's go back both of you."

Hotaru sighed and nodded. But before moving her body, she took a quick glance around the whole room and said in a scary voice (directing it to Mikan), "This is not over."

Her brother, Subaru, just gave his sister a weird, confused look, "Who are you talking to?"

"No one," Hotaru replied cooly before she and Ruka followed him back to the party.

Behind the cupboard, Mian sighed loudly as if she had been holding her breath for a long time and groaned. She bit her lip in fear with her eyes closed and turned her head towards Natsume. "I'm extremely scared to go back to the party."

"You're going to have to face her sooner or later. You might as just do it and get it over with." To Mikan's surprise, Natsume sounded as if he was actually trying to comfort her, rather than mock her and tease her. For this reason, she looked at him and gave him a small smile.

* * *

That's it for now! I'll try to make my next update as soon as possible!


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